He took oath as the new Chief Minister amid resentment among senior BJP leaders in Maharashtra. But by the end of the first Assembly session, Devendra Fadnavis has clearly emerged as the dominant leader, both inside the party and in the government.
From aggressively countering Opposition attacks on his government to rescuing his Minsters caught in tight situations inside the House, Mr. Fadnavis has sent out a clear message that he is the boss.
Asked if the new State government was being run from Nagpur (his hometown), Mr. Fadnavis was quick with a repartee. “If Vilasrao Deshmukh can run the government from his hometown Latur and Ashok Chavan from Nanded, then I won’t mind if my government’s power centre is Nagpur.”
The Chief Minister announced a slew of decisions during the winter session of the State legislature in his home town. He announced a Rs. 7000-crore package for farmers of drought-affected areas, sanctioned inquiries into corruption cases against senior NCP leaders, suggested a “time bound” programme for the development of Vidarbha, tabled the Kelkar committee report on regional imbalance which was gathering dust for over a year and promised swift decisions for Mumbai’s development.
“We have brought a paradigm shift in governance. Our government will not only provide relief to the people, but will take crucial decisions for their welfare. We have taken more decisions in one month than the previous government took in 10 years,” Mr. Fadnavis told a press conference at the conclusion of the winter session.
On the last day of the session, the Chief Minister aggressively countered the Opposition onslaught against the formation of a separate committee for Mumbai’s development headed by the Prime Minister. “You cannot stop the PM from coming to Mumbai,” he thundered in the Upper House. “No one’s father” can snatch Mumbai from Maharashtra.
However, the discomfort of two senior Ministers in his Cabinet who aspired to be the Chief Minister was visible during the session. “I am equivalent to the CM. I am the leader of the Upper House and look after 12 Ministries,” said senior Minister Eknath Khadse in the State Council when Congress MLCs teased him about his party denying him the top job.
Mr. Khadse had openly said that the “Bahujan Samaj” (the majority of the people in the State) would have loved to see a “Bahujan” CM (CM from Non-Brahmin community).
Another senior Minister, Sudhir Manguntiwar (who is perceived to be close to Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari) kept a low profile during the session and avoided media interactions.
“Both the leaders are finding it hard to digest the fact that someone junior to them has made it to the Chief Minister’s post and they have to work under him,” said a BJP MLA requesting anonymity.
Mr. Khadse and Mr. Manguntiwar were also in the news for the wrong reasons. Mr. Khadse received flak for his remark that farmers were reluctant to clear their electricity dues, though they had the money to pay their mobile phone bills. Mr. Manguntiwar reportedly used a special plane for over two days to fly to Tiruputi and back to Nagpur.
