Mumbai, Dec 4 (IANS): BJP’s central leadership preferred not to spring a surprise by following the formula applied in Haryana, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh in the selection of a new leader bypassing the established ones as the chief minister’s candidate, and decided to give its go ahead for Devendra Fadnavis as the legislature party leader and new Maharashtra CM.
Fadnavis enjoys a clean image, and a good command over the administration with a mastery of taking Opposition head-on while keeping the allies in a good humour.
In Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Haryana, the BJP formed the government on its own, while in Maharashtra, the BJP will form the government with allies Shiv Sena and NCP as it fell short of crossing the halfway mark.
For Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, who had dropped sufficient hints in their poll rallies, Fadnavis was the obvious-preferred choice as he is qualified and experienced to run the coalition government in the state.
BJP leadership has thereby decided not to conduct any experiment in Maharashtra, especially when it is not only a politically vibrant state but also a state that has every potential to play an important role in the Viksit Bharat mission.
Further, the central leadership acknowledged Fadnavis' winning strategy without harming the interests of the allies. Undeterred by the dismal performance of BJP and MahaYuti in general in the Lok Sabha elections, he worked relentlessly to stitch together an alliance while keeping BJP's dominance, as the party won 132 seats after contesting 149 seats.
Further, the central leadership also decided to zero in on a Brahmin chief minister and not from politically influential Maratha or the OBC communities despite recent pro quota protests.
This was because Fadnavis was credited for providing Maratha reservation before the state assembly election held in 2019. Although the reservation was upheld by the Bombay High Court, it was scrapped by the Supreme Court.
Fadnavis blamed the then undivided Shiv Sena-led government for its inability to strongly plead the state government's case so that the Maratha quota would have passed a legal scrutiny.
On the other hand, it was Fadnavis who made a balancing act by assuring reservations to the Maratha community and also to OBCs without encroaching in their respective quotas.
He did not stop there but, along with BJP state-in charge and Union Minister Bhupender Yadav, took efforts to mobilise OBC support by organising over 350 small meetings.
Their efforts ultimately paid off as the OBCs overwhelmingly supported the BJP in the election.
In addition, Fadnavis skillfully exploited the Supreme Court's recent judgement allowing sub-categorisation of SCs and STs for the purpose of reservations.
His efforts to reach out to Hindu Dalits and other sub-castes paid off as they voted for the BJP in a large number.
Moreover, the leadership chose Fadnavis especially when as a loyal soldier of the BJP, he joined the Eknath Shinde-led government as the deputy chief minister without making any noise and actively worked for its smooth functioning.
Besides, his role as the leader of opposition during the undivided Shiv Sena-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government also came to his reckoning.
As the leader of opposition, he put the Maha Vikas Aghadi government on the defensive by targeting it on various issues including corruption, misuse of power and mishandling of the coronavirus pandemic.
Taking to cricket terminology, BJP central leadership picked up an all-rounder instead of going in for a night watchman. A veteran BJP leader and former minister Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil summarised that the central leadership has taken a historical decision to choose Devendra Fadnavis as the CM to write a new history in Maharashtra.