In 2019, he had famously said: “Me Punha Yein (I’ll be back).” In 2024, he’s maintaining a diplomatic silence even as everyone’s wondering: “Toh Punha Yeil ka? (Will he be back?)”
Simple maths should yield a resounding yes. BJP’s numbers are more than double of Shiv Sena’s. Logically it’s a no contest. But politics is not about numbers alone and with Shinde camp dropping hints that status quo should prevail it’s to be seen whether the man from Nagpur will head to the Mantralaya as CM or not.
Fadnavis played a stellar role in leading the tripartite alliance to victory. While everyone focused on the numbers of LS polls, he zeroed in on the granular details. Mahayuti’s vote share was mere one percent lower than MVA’s. If two lakh more voters had voted for them, the picture would’ve been very different.
It is precisely with this emphasis on smart poll management that Fadnavis went about planning BJP’scampaign and at the same time performing his role as deputy CM. Finally, he’s returned, with a big bang – BJP has posted its highest seat tally in Maharashtra with 132 seats.
Fadnavis has, indeed, a point or two to prove. In 2019, then CM Fadnavis had been BJP’s face for the state election campaign. He had even led the party’s Mahajanadesh yatra and made the famous ‘Me Punha Yein’ statement. It turned out to be quite a millstone around his neck, and he has been hoping for five years that he’d be able to cast it away.
He helped BJP leadership engineer splits in Sena and NCP and took it on the chin when he was made deputy to Eknath Shinde. All he did after that perceived diminishing of stature was to get back to work so that he could bounce back.
This combination of silent, steady work with strong pronouncements has brought him back into the reckoning for the CM’s post, again.
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