Devendra Fadnavis Wants To Be Relieved Of His Duties As He Takes Responsibility For BJP’s Poor Show In Maharashtra

BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis has offered to resign as Maharashtra’s Deputy Chief Minister, taking responsibility for the party’s poor performance in the Lok Sabha elections. The former Chief Minister requested the BJP leadership to relieve him of his duties so he could focus on strengthening the party ahead of the Maharashtra Assembly polls later this year.

During a media briefing, Fadnavis stated, “I take responsibility for the election results in Maharashtra. I was leading the party. I am requesting the BJP high command to relieve me from government responsibilities so that I can work hard for the party in the upcoming elections.”

Fadnavis emphasized that the BJP leadership should allow him to dedicate his time to the party’s efforts ahead of the Assembly polls in November. He also stated, “Farmers’ issues played a dominant role in some seats. Also, the false propaganda that the constitution would be altered impacted some voters. The outright votes of the Muslims and the Maratha movement has an impact.”

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The BJP’s seat count in Maharashtra dropped to nine, down from 23 in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, with a vote share of 26.18%. Meanwhile, the Congress slightly improved its performance, securing 13 seats in the state.

The state’s Deputy Chief Minister also expressed gratitude to the people of the country. He stated, “I thank the people of the country who enabled Modiji (PM Narendra Modi) to take oath as the Prime Minister for the third time. The NDA performed well in Odisha and Andhra Pradesh as well. I thank people for that.”

Earlier in the day, the BJP unit in Maharashtra held a meeting to analyze the party’s poor performance. The meeting was attended by Devendra Fadnavis, BJP state unit chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule, and other senior leaders.

The BJP-led NDA significantly fell short of its goal of winning 45 seats in Maharashtra. The BJP managed to secure just nine Lok Sabha seats in the state, a decline of 14 seats compared to the 2019 elections. Along with its allies, the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar-led NCP, the NDA won 17 out of 48 seats.

In contrast, the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) exceeded expectations, winning 30 seats. The Congress secured 13 seats, a significant increase from the single seat it won in 2019, while the Shiv Sena (UBT) won nine, and the NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) won eight seats.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has secured a third term, supported by coalition partners including the Nitish Kumar-led JD(U) and the Chandrababu Naidu-led TDP. The BJP fell 32 seats short of the 272 majority mark after the votes from the 2024 Lok Sabha elections were counted. For the first time since the BJP came to power in 2014, it did not secure a majority on its own.

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