Devendra Fadnavis’ party claimed otherwise just three hours after he declared his renunciation of all government positions in Maharashtra.
The second stunner of the day was delivered by BJP president JP Nadda, who declared, “He must be Deputy Chief Minister.” I shall approach him directly.
The first was Mr. Fadnavis’s declaration that Eknath Shinde, and not he, would serve as Maharashtra’s chief minister.
Mr. Fadnavis declared at the time, “I would not hold any role in the government. Uddhav Thackeray, who previously spent two terms as chief minister, resigned from his position yesterday night in large part due to a passion project of his.
Mr. Fadnavis may have felt that reporting to Mr. Shinde was an unwelcome downgrade given his prior position as the top official in his home state. Mr. Fadnavis is said to have agreed to take the position just after 7 o’clock.
He has played a key role in the drama that unfolded over the past nine days as Mr. Thackeray was surrounded by a Mr. Shinde-led group of his party.
