Maharashtra deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis offers to resign after BJP's poor show in Lok Sabha elections

Maharashtra's deputy chief minister and senior BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis is set to request the BJP leadership to relieve him of his deputy CM responsibilities. This move comes in the wake of the party's disappointing performance in the recent Lok Sabha elections, where the BJP's tally in Maharashtra dropped drastically from 23 seats in 2019 to just nine this year.

Fadnavis, who has been a key figure in the state's BJP leadership, took full responsibility for the party's electoral setback.

“I want to work at the organisational level to improve the performance of the party in the ensuing Assembly elections. I want to devote my full time to strengthening the organisation. I am going to request my central leadership to free me from the responsibility of the post in the state government,” Fadnavis told a press conference after a review meeting on Lok Sabha results.

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The meeting, convened a day after the election results were announced, was attended by top BJP leaders, including state unit chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule. The primary agenda was to analyse the party's performance and discuss future strategies. Despite the BJP and its allies securing 17 of the 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra, the results were seen as a significant decline compared to the 2019 elections.

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In the previous Lok Sabha polls, the BJP had won 23 seats in Maharashtra. This time, however, the party's performance was overshadowed by the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), comprising Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT), and NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar). The MVA collectively won 30 seats, marking a substantial gain for the alliance. Congress saw a remarkable increase, winning 13 seats compared to just one in 2019. Shiv Sena (UBT) secured nine seats, while NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) secured eight.

Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said that they had fought elections collectively and the defeat was a collective responsibility.

“The responsibility for the defeat is of all three parties, we worked together,” said CM Shinde in response to Fadnavis' offer to step down as deputy chief minister.

Fadnavis was sworn in as the deputy chief minister in the Eknath Shinde-led government on June 30, 2022.