News Brief
What Maharashtra BJP's "Modern Abhimanyu" Said On Chief Minister Post After Mahayuti's Landslide Election Victory
Devendra Fadnavis, Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar
After the BJP-led Mahayuti's landslide victory in the Maharashtra Assembly elections, senior party leader and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis reiterated that he is a "modern Abhimanyu who knows how to break the Chakravyuh".
Fadnavis’s analogy draws from the epic Mahabharata, where Abhimanyu, the warrior son of Arjuna and Subhadra, knew how to enter the Chakravyuh—a complex military formation—but lacked the knowledge to exit it. In the epic, he was trapped and killed by Kaurava fighters.
In September, Fadnavis had said that the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) intended to trap him in a maze.
"But I am a modern Abhimanyu. I know how to get into the maze and how to exit," he had said.
Speaking to the media after the alliance’s landslide victory today (23 November), Fadnavis said, "I had said earlier, I am a modern Abhimanyu. I know how to break the Chakravyuh. We have broken the Chakravyuh. I have a very small contribution in this victory. Our team has won this."
The BJP-led Mahayuti is either leading or winning in 231 out of 288 seats in Maharashtra’s Assembly, while the Opposition MVA, coming off a strong performance in the general election, has been reduced to around 50 seats.
Of the 231 seats that Mahayuti is leading on, the BJP on its own is leading on 130 seats, just 15 shy of the majority mark of 145.
With the BJP scoring big, the spotlight is now shifting to Devendra Fadnavis, who is being seen as a strong contender for the Chief Minister’s role. In that case, Shiv Sena leader and CM Eknath Shinde will have to step down.
Asked about the Chief Minister post, Fadnavis said, "There will be no dispute over the Chief Minister post. It was decided on Day 1 that after the polls, all three parties will decide this together. Whatever is decided will be acceptable to everybody."
