Days after offering to resign over Bharatiya Janata Party’s poor performance in the Lok Sabha election in Maharashtra, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced on Saturday that he would remain in his position.
This decision came following a party meeting where State BJP legislators expressed their confidence in him and urged him to continue as their leader.
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He said senior party leader Amit Shah too asked him to stay on, and he has since started preparing for the upcoming Assembly election. “I met Amit Shah who asked me to continue, and I will do that. We have a strategy and I have already started the work,” he said.
Mr. Fadnavis clarified that his initial resignation offer was not driven by emotions or disappointment over the electoral results. “I do not retreat; I fight back. In times of adversity, we can rebound with strength, as taught by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj,” he stated.
He attributed part of the electoral loss to a “fake narrative” that acted as an additional opposition force for the Mahayuti. “False rumours about the BJP planning to change the Constitution had harmed the ruling alliance. This fake narrative acted as a fourth (opposition) party alongside the three-party Maha Vikas Aghadi. We realised this after the fourth phase of election,” Mr. Fadnavis explained, noting it as a factor in the MVA’s superior performance.
“Fake narratives have a long life. PM Modi has decided to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Constitution, yet the narrative spread…” the BJP leader said.
In the recent Lok Sabha election, the MVA secured 30 out of 48 Lok Sabha seats in the Western State, while the ruling alliance won 17 seats, with an additional seat won by a rebel Congress candidate.
Mr. Fadnavis said while there was talk of sympathy for Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray, his party failed to win any seats in the Thane and Konkan areas. In Mumbai, Mr. Thackeray’s success was due to the consolidation of votes from a specific community, not broad Marathi-speaking voter support. “They (Shiv Sena (UBT)) had a narrow lead in Marathi-dominated Assembly segments of Worli, Shivdi, Vikhroli and Bhandup,” he said.
He pointed out that the BJP’s vote share remained stable compared to 2019, with the party losing 11 constituencies by narrow margins.
