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Himanta Biswa praises Fadnavis' 'selflessness'; Congress leader says, 'New Advani...'
Congress leader Abhishek Singhvi who represented the Sena in the Supreme Court said the 'masterstroke' to demote Fadnavis must be some 'Chanakya Neeti'
Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma who became a key player in the Maharashtra coup after Eknath Shinde took his MLAs to a five-star in Guwahati on Thursday said Devendra Fadnavis's act of selflessness is exemplary. "I am sure you will play a very crucial role in propelling your state to greater heights of progress," Himanta Biswa Sarma tweeted after Fadnavis became the deputy CM while Eknath Shinde was sworn in as the chief minister, upsetting all the calculations. Also Read | Eknath Shinde: Thane’s ‘bhai’ is a family man, and a friend in need
BJP leader Nitesh Rane said he has been reading a lot of books on RSS to understand the values of a swayamsevak but Devendra Fadnavis finally taught him what it means to be a swayamsevak.
Also Read | 'CMs are of 3 types…': Shashi Tharoor's veiled dig at Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde
While Eknath Shinde credited Fadnavis's ‘large heart’ for giving him the CM post Congress leader Abhishek Singhvi, who was Sena's lawyer in the Supreme Court, said BJP's compromise on the CM seat must be some Chanakya Neeti. "BJP compromise on CM seat which may have been done with a leader of Uddhav's stature has now been done with Eknath Shinde. Now waiting for IT Cell's justifications on 'sheer suddenness' & 'masterstroke' to glorify Fadnavis's demotion as some Chanakya Neeti," he tweeted.
“The biggest question of the year still remains that which compulsion made BJP compromise from CM post despite horse-trading and massively spending in Operation Lotus. Nevertheless, we have a new LK Advani in Indian politics. #Devendra_Fadnavis remains the eternal CM in waiting,” Singhvi tweeted.
On Thursday afternoon, Devendra Fadnavis announced that Eknath Shinde will be the chief minister and he won't be part of the government. But on BJP chief JP Nadda's request, Fadnavis took the oath as the deputy CM. In 2019, Fadnavis took the oath as chief minister with the support of a group of NCP MLAs led by Ajit Pawar, but had to resign as they did not have the numbers.
Fadnavis becoming the deputy of Eknath Shinde while being the main player behind the BJP coming back into the government of Maharashtra triggered several political reactions. NCP chief Sharad Pawar said Fadnavis did not look happy accepting the post.
"I think Fadnavis has not accepted the number two position happily. His facial expression said it all. (But) He is from Nagpur and he has worked as a `swayamsevak' (with the RSS) and there, when an order comes, it has to be followed," Sharad Pawar said about the last-minute change.
As Eknath Shinde kept his flock together at the Guwahati hotel, Fadnavis flew to Delhi and had a word with the top leadership. Coming back to Mumbai, he met Governor BS Koshyari and demanded a floor test which quickened the collapse of the MVA government. As the governor ordered a floor test and the Supreme Court refused to put a stay order, Uddhav Thackeray resigned. Fadnavis was tipped to be the chief minister and sweet celebrations began soon after Thackeray's resignation.
Fadnavis is not the first former chief minister to accept the post of deputy chief minister. There are instances of Shankarrao Chavan, Shivajirao Patil Nilangekar, Narayan Rane and Ashok Chavan who served as chief ministers and later became junior ministers in the cabinet in another dispensation.
