Mumbai: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday engaged in an exclusive conversation with a national TV news channel to shed light on the Bharatiya Janata Party’s plans in the State ahead of the 2024 elections. Asked who will be the Chief Ministerial face in Maharashtra in next year’s elections, a cautious Fadnavis said the decision rests with the BJP high command and that he does not have the authority to comment on the subject.
“Devendra Fadnavis owes his position as the Chief Minister to the BJP. Without the BJP, Fadnavis would not have existed. Whatever my party says, I am ready to do it. My party made me the Deputy Chief Minister, if they had asked me to become a peon, I would have taken that position happily,” Fadnavis said.
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Saturday 05 Oct. 2024
Fadnavis was the Chief Minister of Maharashtra from 2014 to 2019. He subsequently became the Deputy Chief Minister when Eknath Shinde broke away from Uddhav Thackeray.
“I was initially shocked by the decision to appoint me as the Deputy Chief Minister because I had entered with the intention of keeping a distance from the government. However, I received the unexpected news that I would be assuming the role of Deputy CM. Looking back now, I must say that I am content and satisfied with the decision made by the party’s high command,” he added.
“It is natural for every party and its members to aspire for their leader to become the Chief Minister. However, I want to clarify that in the upcoming 2024 elections, it is Eknath Shinde who will lead and serve as the face of the coalition. As for the question of who will assume the role of Chief Minister after the elections, that is a matter for the BJP national president, JP Nadda, as decisions within the party are made by the parliamentary board. I do not have the authority to make any comments on this matter,” he said.
