BJP MLAs demand DyCM Devendra Fadnavis to take back resignation

Following its drubbing in the Lok Sabha elections in Maharashtra, the party’s state unit convened a meeting of all its MLAs in Mumbai to brainstorm for the upcoming assembly elections. At the meeting, the legislators unanimously passed a resolution extending their support to Fadnavis

Mumbai: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLAs from Maharashtra have urged deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis to withdraw his resignation from the state cabinet.

Mumbai, India. June 08, 2024: Maharashtra State Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) held a meeting of all Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) at the Dadar Party office in the presence of Chandrashekhar Bawankule, BJP Maharashtra State President, Devendra Fadnavis, Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra, and Sudhir Mungantiwar. June 08, 2024. (Photo by Raju Shinde/HT Photo)

Following its drubbing in the Lok Sabha elections in Maharashtra, the party’s state unit convened a meeting of all its MLAs in Mumbai to brainstorm for the upcoming assembly elections.

At the meeting, the legislators unanimously passed a resolution extending their support to Fadnavis, who had offered to resign from the state government after taking responsibility for the BJP’s poor performance. The BJP managed to win just nine Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra, down from 23 in the 2019 polls. However, the BJP MLAs said they would resign if Fadnavis was not the deputy chief minister.

Fadnavis, who was present at the meeting, told the MLAs that the BJP central leadership would eventually take a call on his resignation. He also vowed to bounce back and bring the Mahayuti government to power for the third time in the Maharashtra assembly elections.

The 53-year-old said he had started working for the assembly elections right after the Lok Sabha poll results were announced on June 4. He also pointed out that although the BJP lost a sizeable number of seats in Maharashtra, its vote share has dropped by just 1.5% in 2024 compared with the 2019 polls.

“The decision of opting out after the poor performance in the Lok Sabha was not taken out of dismay of despair or emotions. It was only after a well thought out strategy in mind. We will prepare a blueprint for the assembly polls. We failed in the political arithmetic, failed to counter the narrative set by the opposition that it resulted in massive defeat despite having polled almost the same vote share as in 2019,” Fadnavis said.

Fadnavis added that the ruling combine had polled just 200,000 votes fewer than the opposition alliance and was leading in 76 assembly constituencies across the state. “The opposition this time succeeded in setting a false narrative related to the scrapping of the constitution and the Maratha reservation. Misinformation was spread among tribals and Dalits, and it would not work again in the assembly polls. It is also not true that the Shiv Sena led by Uddhav Thackeray enjoys sympathy after the split in the party. Thackeray has won nine seats based on the Muslim votes,” he said.

The deputy chief minister warned MLAs from the ruling alliance not to speak against each other over the Lok Sabha poll results. He said that although there were issues related to the coordination among the three partners, the leadership of the three parties would take appropriate steps.

Fadnavis had met union home minister Amit Shah in Delhi on Thursday and Friday, where they discussed the Lok Sabha election results and his offer to resign. A section of the BJP leaders in Maharashtra believes that the party’s central leadership is unlikely to allow Fadnavis to step down from the state cabinet.

“Shah, during his meetings with Fadnavis, has not given any final decision on it and has asked him to continue in the cabinet until the final decision is taken,” said a senior party leader. “Fadnavis is hellbent on resigning as deputy chief minister and is likely to push his case during the next meeting in Delhi.”

The senior leader also hinted that Fadnavis may be eyeing the chief minister’s post if the Mahayuti government retains power in the state. “If he leads the party to victory in the assembly polls in the backdrop of the Lok Sabha performance by opting out from the cabinet, he will emerge as the real hero and be the claimant of the top post. If he is allowed to step down, a leader like Girish Mahajan, who is a close confidante of Fadanvis, will replace him,” the senior party leader said. Fadnavis was Maharashtra’s chief minister from October 2014 to November 2019.