Maharashtra CM swearing-in: From youngest mayor to 3-time Chief Minister – the political journey of Devendra Fadnavis

Maharashtra CM swearing-in: In December 2019, Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Devendra Fadnavis invoked a Hindi couplet promising that he will be back.

"Mera paani utarte dekh kinare par ghar mat bana lena, main samandar hoon, laut kar vapis aaunga (Thinking the tide has ebbed, don't you dare build your house on the coast; for I am the sea, and I will come back)," said Fadnavis while speaking in the Maharashtra Assembly as leader of Opposition. Fadnavis was referring to the BJP's estranged ally, Uddhav Thackeray, who had become the chief minister then.

December 2019 was perhaps a low point in Fadnavis' political career. Many, mostly in the then ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, had mocked the BJP leader. 

Cut to 2024 and Fadnavis is all set to be the Chief Minister of Maharashtra for a third term at the swearing-in in Mumbai today. And MVA is hardly even in opposition in the assembly. The alliance may not even get the leader of opposition post in the state house since it has got just about 50 seats in the 288-member house. 

The BJP's core committee – the highest decision making body – endorsed the candidature of Devendra Fadnavis for the top post. Fadnavis was also unanimously elected as the Leader of Maharashtra BJP Legislative Party, paving the way for him to helm Mahayuti 2.0.

Fadnavis served as the 9th deputy chief minister of Maharashtra since June 30, 2022, in the outgoing assembly.

Old BJP hand in Maharashtra

Fadnavis is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RRS) – the BJP’s ideological mentor. He is arguably the most prominent BJP leader in Maharashtra.

Fadnavis contested his first assembly election in 1999 and won. He represented Nagpur West from 1999 to 2009 in the state assembly. Later, he represented the Nagpur South West constituency in the Assembly since 2009 and won it again in the 2024 assembly elections.

Fadnavis is the only CM who has served as both as CM and deputy CM in Maharashtra. Fadnavis was the 18th Chief Minister of Maharashtra from October 31, 2014 to November 12, 2019. He became Chief Minister at the age of 44, making him the second-youngest CM in Maharashtra's history after Sharad Pawar. 

The Mahayuti alliance scripted a historic victory in the recent the Maharashtra assembly elections by winning 235 seats in the 288-member House. The BJP led the Mahayuti's victory by winning 132 seats – the highest among all allies. Shinde Sena won 57 seats and Ajit Pawar-led NCP won 41 seats in the election.

The victory in the 2024 assembly elections marks a remarkable comeback from the BJP's 105 seats in 2019, setting the stage for Fadnavis to become CM.

The 2019 Assembly Election

The 2019 assembly elections was a significant moment in Fadnavis’ political journey. The Shiv Sena- BJP alliance collapsed. Fadnavis was forced to seek an alternative alliance with the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar. He became CM for the second term on November 23, 2019. The government, however, didn’t last more than five days. Fadnavis resigned as CM on November 28, 2019, and assumed the role of the Leader of the Opposition in the state assembly.

In June 2022, following a rebellion within the Shiv Sena led by Eknath Shinde, Fadnavis decided to return to the government as Deputy CM under Shinde. Many termed the move as a demotion for Fadnavis. But as it turned out, the decision helped Fadnavis and the BJP grow stronger in Maharashtra with 130+ seats in the recent elections.

In the Lok Sabha Elections 2024, the BJP lost ground in Maharashtra. It won just nine of the 28 seats it contested in 2024, as against 23 of the 25 seats it contested in the 2019 general elections. Then, some reports had suggested that Fadnavis might as well be shunted to Delhi.

Fadnavis was born on July 22, 1970 to Brahmin family of Gangadhar Fadnavis and Sarita Fadnavis in Nagpur. His father, Gangadhar Fadnavis was a member of the Maharashtra Legislative Council from Nagpur and his mother Sarita Fadnavis was a former director of the Vidarbha Housing Credit Society.

As a college student, Fadnavis was an active member of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the student's wing of the BJP. He is a trained lawyer.

Father Imprisoned During Emergency

During the Emergency, Fadnavis' father, a member of the Jan Sangh, was imprisoned for participating in anti-government protests. Fadnavis subsequently refused to continue his schooling at Indira Convent as he did not want to attend a school named after former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, whom he held responsible for imprisoning his father. He then joined the Saraswati Vidyalaya School, Nagpur.

Fadnavis holds a graduate degree in law from Government Law College, Nagpur University, a post-graduate degree in Business Management, and a diploma in Methods and Techniques of Project Management from DSE-German Foundation for International Development in Germany.

Fadnavis' political career began in 1992 when he was elected as the Councilor at Nagpur Municipal Corporation. At 27, Fadnavis became the youngest Mayor of Nagpur in 1997.

The 54-year-old leader, with deep roots in RSS, is only the second Brahmin after BJP's estranged ally Shiv Sena's Manohar Joshi to become the state’s chief minister of Maharashtra – a state dominated by Maratha politics and politicians.

Net Worth

Fadnavis declared a net worth of about ₹5.2 crore in his election affidavit. This includes ₹56 lakh as movable and ₹4.6 crore as immovable assets comprising agricultural land and residential properties.

His wife, Amruta Fadnavis, has declared a net worth of about ₹7.9 crore. This includes ₹6.9 crore movable assets and ₹95 lakh immovable assets. Together, the Fadnavis couple has a net worth of about ₹13 crore.

Fadnavis declared an annual income of ₹38.7 lakh in 2023-24 fiscal and ₹38.6 lakh in 2022-23 fiscal.

As he is set to take oath on Thursday a third time, Fadnavis will join the ranks of political legends Vasantrao Naik, Maharashtra's longest-serving chief minister, and Sharad Pawar, who has been the chief minister four times.