Devendra Fadnavis will face leadership test; challenges before new Chief Minister

Mumbai: Devendra Fadnavis has been named the Chief Minister of Maharashtra after much discussion. However, he will have to face huge challenges on the political, social and economic fronts.

Fadnavis will be sworn in for the third time as the Chief Minister of the State. His poll strategy has reaped rich dividends in the State elections. The BJP has got the highest number of seats while the Maha Yuti has received a massive mandate.

A review of the challenges before the new CM.

A tightrope walk

The BJP has 132 seats while the Maha Yuti’s tally in the new State Assembly is 237. In this backdrop, Fadnavis cannot be pressured by alliance partners. However, the Shiv Sena (BT), the NCP (AP) and CM Shinde’s leadership also played an important role in the Maha Yuti’s success.

Therefore, Fadnavis will have to take the two leaders into confidence while running the government. The two alliance partners are at loggerheads even before the swearing-in ceremony. Fadnavis has the tough task to take them along.

Pro-Gujarat image

The opposition has been alleging that the State Government has been making decisions in favour of Gujarat. PM Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah have been interfering in State politics while big industrial projects have been shifted from Maharashtra to Gujarat.

Moreover, Adani Group has been awarded big projects in Mumbai such as Dharavi redevelopment, which invited criticism from the opposition. Such allegations will be levelled in the future too. Fadnavis will have to successfully reply to them.

Maratha quota and caste equations

Some opposition parties are targeting Fadnavis over his caste after his nomination to the CM’s post. The caste card can be played after Maratha Eknath Shinde’s sidelining for the post. Moreover, Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange Patil has been targeting Fadnavis for the past one year over the quota issue. He has warned that he would launch a hunger strike after the oath-taking ceremony. Fadnavis will have to tackle this issue skillfully.

Elections to local self-governing bodies

Devendra Fadnavis will have to prove that the massive mandate that their alliance received was neither temporary nor a coincidence. He will have to ensure that the people in the State, who voted for the Maha Yuti, remain firmly behind him.

In this backdrop, the local self-government elections will test his leadership. Political circles will closely monitor civic poll outcomes from major cities such as Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur and Chh. Sambhaji Nagar.