News Brief
Devendra Fadnavis To Continue As Maharashtra Deputy CM As Amit Shah Rejects His Offer To Resign: Report
Devendra Fadnavis
Amidst reports indicating Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis' firm stance on resigning, citing responsibility for the NDA's performance in the state, Home Minister Amit Shah has intervened, asking him to continue his government duties.
Fadnavis, the former Maharashtra chief minister, is part of the state government alongside the Eknath Shinde faction of the Shiv Sena and the Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).
While the undivided Shiv Sena and BJP alliance secured 41 of the state's 48 seats in 2019, their coalition, known as Mahayuti, managed only 17 seats in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
The Maha Vikas Aghadi, comprising the Congress, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), and the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar), has clinched victory in 30 constituencies.
Fadnavis had offered his resignation on Wednesday (5 June), a day after the vote count, and several BJP leaders have spoken to him since.
Following an NDA meeting on Friday in Delhi, Fadnavis met with Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and Chief Minister Eknath Shinde to review the coalition's performance, where the topic of Fadnavis' resignation was discussed.
State assembly elections are expected to be held around October this year.
Shah reportedly said to Fadnavis, "If you resign, it will impact the morale of BJP workers. So, don't resign now."
He also indicated that they would address the resignation issue in detail after the scheduled swearing-in of Narendra Modi as Prime Minister for the third time, set for around 7 pm on Sunday (9 June).
Maharashtra, the second-largest contributor of MPs to the Lok Sabha, played a significant role in the BJP's reduced seat tally from 303 to 240 in 2024.
However, the BJP-led NDA secured 293 Lok Sabha seats, comfortably surpassing the majority mark of 272.
