Devendra Fadnavis
Kingmaker who became deputy
Widely considered the ground force behind the fall of the Aghadi government and Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena, Devendra Fadnavis remained the face of the rebellion while staying backstage. The Maharashtra deputy chief minister has brought the BJP back into power over two years. However, the final chapter was written by the top BJP leadership in Delhi and Eknath Shinde. Fadnavis, who initially said he will not be a part of the new government, had to abide by the orders issued by the brass, and settle for the junior post. He now has to work under Shinde, who was his junior in 2014 and 2019. The decision shocked Fadnavis’ followers. However, he is in power now and can use this opportunity to prove himself again with his political acumen.
Eknath Shinde
Rebel who rose
In an irony of sorts, Eknath Shinde is following in NCP chief Sharad Pawar’s footsteps. The Maharashtra chief minister and leader of rebel Shiv Sena MLAs. Shinde is the second successful politician whose revolt has propped him to the top political post in the state. The first successful politician was Pawar who at the age of 38 revolted against Congress Chief Minister Vasant Dada Patil in 1978, becoming the youngest ever chief minister of Maharashtra with Janta Party support. Earlier, Chhagan Bhujbal, Narayan Rane, and Raj Thackeray had rebelled against Shiv Sena, but their move gave them only a ministry in the government. Now, Shinde faces the big test of establishing himself as a powerful leader and diminishing the Thackeray brand further.
Sharad Pawar
Checkmated sharad
The architect of the Maha Vikas Aghadi government, NCP chief Sharad Pawar found it difficult to keep the three-party flock together this time. The collapse of the alliance with an ideologically different party like the Shiv Sena has come as a major setback for Pawar. The seasoned and astute politician had set an example with the post-poll tie-up that different ideological regional and national parties can be brought together to defeat the BJP. That formula increased his stature in national politics and ahead of 2024 Lok Sabha polls, he tried to bring all the regional parties to one table. But the BJP played a smarter game. This is bound to have repercussions for Pawar’s political strategy in future. The leader, however, asked his people to work hard for the 2024 polls.
Uddhav Thackeray
Brand Thackeray gets blurred
With brand Uddhav Thackeray left damaged, and the career of his son, Aaditya, experiencing an abrupt hurdle, the Shiv Sena scion will have to restart the journey. The Sena president stepped down from the post of Maharashtra chief minister after a majority of his party MLAs, led by Eknath Shinde, staged a revolt against him last month. Though Uddhav’s efforts were lauded during the Covid-19 pandemic, his emotional appeals to his party colleagues to consider him “the family’s head” and return to the fold went unheard. He failed politically to keep his party leaders by his side. He can now take solace from the fact that his father Balasaheb Thackeray too had built the party from scratch on the Marathi manoos and later Hindutva agenda.