Maharashtra has only moved backward under Uddhav Thackeray's Maha Vikas Aghadi. For the state of Maharashtra to get its growth story back the MVA government must go. Shiv Sena must go. Nationalist Congress Party must go. Congress must go.
Devendra Fadnavis – The Political Yogi
Devendra Fadnavis, scripting history, showed that power, pelf and position alone do not constitute politics. Devendra Fadnavis has made such huge sacrifice, and did it so quietly, effortlessly and without any fanfare attached to it. Devendra Fadnavis is thus, a political yogi.
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योगस्थ: कुरु कर्माणि सङ्गं त्यक्त्वा धनञ्जय |
सिद्ध्यसिद्ध्यो: समो भूत्वा समत्वं योग उच्यते ||
Be steadfast in the performance of your duty, O Arjun, abandoning attachment to success and failure. Such equanimity is called Yog.
‘Nation First, Party Next, Self Last.’ In most cases mottos are showpieces meant for profile documents, in politics all the more so. But for the Bharatiya Janata Party, ideology and the party are the glue that binds the karyakartas together. So, when the situation demanded sacrificing personal ambitions for the larger national cause of Hindu nationalism or Hindutva, Devendra Fadnavis relinquished the post of the Chief Minister of Maharashtra in favour of a smaller ally, Shiv Sena’s Eknath Shinde — also seen as an act of deference to the late Shiv Sena chief Balasaheb Thackeray, who wanted a common Shiv Sainik to become the Chief Minister of Maharashtra. Such magnanimity is always rare in politics. But for Devendra Fadnavis, being from an RSS background integrity, loyalty and the sentiment of ‘nation first’ are ingrained since childhood. This act of renunciation of power is rooted in RSS’ culture and civilizational ethos of India.
Devendra Fadnavis, who was a Swayamsevak of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) — defied all odds and became the only second Chief Minister of Maharashtra after Vasantrao Naik to complete his full five-year tenure and the only Chief Minister to complete a full term in 47 years. Devendra Fadnavis’ political graph is nothing short of extraordinary. A Law graduate, who worked closely with the party’s youth wing, Devendra Fadnavis became a corporator in 1992. Within five years, at the age of just 27, he became the youngest Mayor of the Nagpur Municipal Corporation. This was followed by an unbroken four-term stint as Nagpur MLA, cultivating into becoming the Chief Minister of Maharashtra.
Pic(left): Devendra Fadnavis at Bharat Ratna Pt. Bhimsen Joshi Covid hospital in Mira Bhayandar.
Pic(right): At a time when Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray did not even leave his residence, Leader of Opposition, Devendra Fadnavis visited the flood hit areas of Maharashtra.
Devendra Fadnavis at Bharat Ratna Pt. Bhimsen Joshi Covid hospital in Mira Bhayandar.
At a time when Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray did not even leave his residence, Leader of Opposition, Devendra Fadnavis visited the flood hit areas of Maharashtra.
However, post November 2019, most political pundits had written Devendra Fadnavis off. While he had won the election and people’s verdict, he was backstabbed by Uddhav Thackeray and had lost power. The short-lived saga with Ajit Pawar, too, had not ended well. But Devendra Fadnavis is not one to be written off. After assuming the role of the Leader of Opposition, Fadnavis toured Maharashtra thrice, interacting with the common people and party workers on ground. Two of these tours came amid the Covid-19 crisis, while one was after parts of Maharashtra witnessed intense flooding. The stark contrast of Uddhav Thackeray, despite being the Chief Minister sitting at home while Fadnavis travelling across the state to help the people was much evident. People’s problems had found a powerful voice in the form of Fadnavis. Armed with documents, Fadnavis took the lead in targeting the Uddhav Thackeray-Congress-NCP government on a host of issues and became so effective in raising people’s voice and holding the government accountable that a common joke in Maharashtra was that whenever the Assembly session is convened, Covid cases rise because the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government wanted to avoid or curtail the Assembly sessions due to the fear of Devendra Fadnavis. For the common people in the state, they had not seen their CM moving out of his house, but they had seen Fadnavis travel to each and every corner of the state.
Under the leadership of Devendra Fadnavis, BJP had also managed to win the Pandharpur bypoll in 2021, a seat that the party had never managed to win so far. Fadnavis also helmed the party’s campaign for Assembly elections in Bihar and Goa in 2020 and 2022, and also the Rajya Sabha and MLC elections in Maharashtra. It was Devendra Fadnavis’ precise calculations that led to the BJP winning the extra seats in the Rajya Sabha and the MLC polls, in both situations weaning away members who had earlier supported the MVA government. The pressure created by Devendra Fadnavis eventually resulted into the fall of the Uddhav Thackeray led Maha Vikas Aghadi government.
The stage was all set for Devendra Fadnavis to become the Chief Minister of Maharashtra when first came the surprise from Devendra Fadnavis himself — that Shiv Sena’s Eknath Shinde was chosen as the next Chief Minister of the state. Just when people were starting to accept this fact came another shocker. Senior BJP leadership asked Devendra Fadnavis to accept the position of the Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra. For a leader who has acceptance across all the regions of Maharashtra and among all communities and who is seen as the only pan Maharashtra leader since late Yashwant Rao Chavan, being a deputy could be seen as a demotion with a potential to damage this image. But Maharashtra’s sevak — Devendra Fadnavis, scripting history, showed that power, pelf and position alone do not constitute politics. Devendra Fadnavis proved that politics is a means to achieve maximum good for the maximum number of people; and all along, he has been diligently working on this maxim, as his record bears out.
Devendra Fadnavis’ vast experience in running the state is also necessary for the new government to bring back Maharashtra on the growth track. His participation in direct governance will play a very crucial role in propelling Maharashtra to greater heights of progress. Moreover, BJP through Devendra Fadnavis would never sacrifice the values enshrined in the Indian Constitution by remote-controlling the government by staying outside the cabinet. Remember, Sonia Gandhi, through the extra-constitutional National Advisory Council (NAC) had been controlling the Manmohan Singh government for a decade, wielding extra-constitutional power without an ounce of accountability.
For a political stalwart like Devendra Fadnavis, this act of selflessness is exemplary. If anyone has earned respect in this entire Maharashtra political crisis, it is Devendra Fadnavis. He worked hard despite being in opposition and today is ready to sacrifice the chair of the Chief Minister on the orders of the party. What comes out as obvious from this crisis is that, for Devendra Fadnavis welfare of the people, welfare of the state, welfare of the nation is greater than any political position. The chair that he has given up, the sacrifice that he has given has made an indelible impression on the minds of the countrymen, which has put four moons in his multidimensional personality. In Indian politics, Devendra Fadnavis is a model of sacrifice, service, simplicity and struggle, whose resonance will be heard for a long time. Devendra Fadnavis’ reputation of being an administrator in the mould of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the unbridled popularity and excellent mass connect that he enjoys, cutting across caste, creed, social, gender and demographic barriers has won many hearts and put him in a firm position. The BJP leader might be #2 in the Maharashtra government, but he is no doubt the party’s #1 man in the state.
Of great leaders you expect great sacrifices. Devendra Fadnavis has made such huge sacrifice, and did it so quietly, effortlessly and without any fanfare attached to it. Such equanimity that enables us to accept all circumstances with serenity is so praiseworthy that Shree Krishna calls it Yog! Devendra Fadnavis is thus, a political yogi.
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