NAGPUR The newly-inducted deputy chief minister of Maharashtra Devendra Fadnavis said that he joined the Eknath Shinde-led government as the ‘number two’ to honour the wishes of his party (Bharatiya Janata Party).
In his first visit to Nagpur since taking up the charge of deputy minister, Fadnavis received a warm welcome at the airport and in a show of strength, carried out a massive road show till his home.
Addressing reporters, he said that as a committed party man, he is simply following the party’s commands. “Even if they asked me to go home, I would have gone home,” he stated.
Fadnavis claimed that it was BJP national chief JP Nadda who first tried to convince him to join the ministry. This was followed by the union home minister Amit Shah. Finally, when prime minister Narendra Modi himself called him, as a “party loyalist, I accepted the offer.”
Claiming the developmental activities in the state had come to a standstill due to the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, he said that with Eknath Shinde as the chief minister, the state will see new heights of prosperity.
“For the last three to four months, we (BJP) could sense the growing discontent among the Shiv Sena legislators. They were reeling under a lack of leadership. So, we waited for the opportunity and then made our masterstroke,” he revealed.
He also revealed that the entire operation was supported and had approval of top central party leadership like the Shah and Nadda with the consent of the prime minister.
Fadnavis’ visit came a day after the Eknath Shinde-BJP alliance won the vote of trust in the state Assembly. The new Shinde-led government in Maharashtra won the floor test on Monday by a 164-99 margin, proving his government’s majority and cementing his position as the chief minister of the state and the leader of the Sena.