Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis wants to resign.
The senior BJP leader – who held the top post from 2014 to 2019, when the party had allied with the undivided Shiv Sena led by Uddhav Thackeray, said, “I request my top bosses to relieve me from government responsibilities, and let me work for the party… from outside.”
Mr Fadnavis’ resignation comes after the BJP’s dismal showing in the state in the 2024 Lok Sabha election. The party claimed 23 of Maharashtra’s 48 seats in the 2019 election, but managed only nine this time in a poor showing that underlined the BJP’s underwhelming national results; Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party won only 240 seats on its own.
The BJP’s haul leaves it 32 short of the majority mark of 272 and reliant on National Democratic Allies, including the splinter units of the Shiv Sena and NCP, which broke from the larger parties to ally with the BJP and bring down Maharashtra’s MVA government.
