 "'No shocks ahead': Devendra Fadnavis assures stability after taking oath")
After taking oath as the chief minister of Maharashtra on Thursday, Devendra Fadnavis said that the state would not experience the political instability it endured in recent years. He further assured that the Mahayuti alliance would deliver a stable government for the next five years.
“From 2019 to mid-2022, we saw a lot of changes. We hope that there are no more similar shocks in the future,” he said.
Sworn in for a third term as chief minister, the 54-year-old dismissed concerns about the two-week delay in government formation, which stemmed from resistance by Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena. The party had pushed for Shinde to assume the top role, citing the welfare initiatives under his leadership that contributed to the alliance’s electoral success.
Fadnavis said that changes in leadership roles had not affected their working relationship. He referred to the role of chief minister as a “technicality” on previous occasions.
“In 2014, I was the chief minister, and Shinde was with us. In 2019, for 72 hours, Ajit Dada and I were chief minister and deputy chief minister. After that, Shinde was the chief minister, and Ajit Dada and I were deputy chief ministers. Now I am the chief minister, and they both are deputy chief ministers,” he said.
He further said, “Our roles have changed, but the direction is the same, the pace is the same... You will not see anything different when you talk about the relationship between the three of us.”
Fadnavis also said that the government is committed to swift decision-making. “This is a government of very fast decisions. Today, on the occasion of the oath ceremony, I say the pace at which Maharashtra is going, we will not stop. We have to make sure that all the decisions are well-thought, made at the same pace,” the chief minister said.
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The ‘shocks’ mentioned by Fadnavis referred to significant political events, including the Shiv Sena split in 2023 when Shinde’s faction overthrew the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government and allied with the BJP. Later that year, Ajit Pawar’s defection from the Nationalist Congress Party, led by Sharad Pawar, marked another turning point, as he joined the government.
The Mahayuti alliance overcame initial setbacks during the Lok Sabha elections, and achieved a decisive victory in the Assembly polls. Fadnavis said that the victory reflected the alliance’s governance and promised an even brighter future for Maharashtra.
“This is a government of very fast decisions. Today, on the occasion of the oath ceremony, I say the pace at which Maharashtra is going, we will not stop,” he said. “We have to make sure that all the decisions are well-thought, made at the same pace.”
[With agency inputs]