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    Devendra Fadnavis

    Devendra Fadnavis

    Leader of Opposition, Maharashtra
    Birth DetailsJuly 22, 1970 | Nagpur
    NationalityIndian
    LeaguePolitician
    EducationLLB, Government Law College, Nagpur; MBA, DSE, Berlin
    Devendra Fadnavis' Journey so far ...
    • He is the son of RSS activist and BJP MLC the late Gangadhar Fadnavis, whom his fellow Nagpur politician and Union Minister Nitin Gadkari calls his "political guru". Devendra Fadnavis cut his teeth in politics at a young age when he joined the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, the student's wing of the BJP, and became its ward president in 1989
    • He became the youngest councillor in Nagpur Municipal Corporation; at the age of 21. At 27, he became the second-youngest elected mayor, in 1997. A Deshastha Brahmin from Chandrapur in Vidarbha, Devendra’s aunt, Shobha Fadnavis, was a former minister. She represented the Mul constituency for a long time
    • Devendra lost his father when he was 17 and is said to have been brought to the limelight by Gopinath Munde, who saw him as a promising leader
    • The rise of Devendra Fadnavis, the helmsman of the first BJP government in Maharashtra, from an obscure Nagpur councillor to the Chief Minister has been quiet but steady. He contested, and won, his first Assembly election in 1999
    • Subsequently, he won four Assembly elections and currently represents Nagpur South West in the House. At present, he is the Leader of Opposition in the state Legislative Assembly
    • Fadnavis has been one of the most articulate Maharashtra politicians. He is also credited with pushing the previous Congress-NCP governments into a corner over an alleged irrigation scam, which many claimed was primarily responsible for a spate of farmer suicides in the parched Vidarbha, a backward region in the state that has witnessed statehood demand
    • Though Modi had launched a presidential-style campaign blitzkrieg in the 2014 Lok Sabha and Maharashtra Assembly polls, credit for the emphatic victories also went to Fadnavis, the then state BJP president. Together with the Shiv Sena and Swabhimani Shetkari Paksha, the saffron alliance had won 42 of the state's 48 Lok Sabha seats
    • Despite its messy separation with Sena just ahead of the 2014 Assembly election, the BJP won 122 seats in the 288-member House, up from 46 in 2009. He was handpicked by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and then BJP Chief Amit Shah over his seniors for his organisational skills to head the state
    • On October 31, 2014, Devendra Fadnavis was sworn-in as the first BJP chief minister of the state at a grand function at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium
    • He became the fourth politician from Vidarbha and the second youngest to hold the top post after NCP boss Sharad Pawar. In a state dominated by Maratha politicians, Fadnavis was only the second Brahmin Chief Minister after Shiv Sena's Manohar Joshi
    • During his tenure as the Chief Minister, he initiated several projects such as the Jalyukta Shivar Abhiyan, Mumbai Next, Police Digitisation Project, and State of Maharashtra Agribusiness and Rural Transformation (SMART)
    • The BJP and the Shiv Sena shared power between 2014 and 2019. However, after the 2019 Assembly polls, the Sena parted ways with the BJP over sharing the chief minister's post
    • In November 2019, Fadnavis resigned as the Maharashtra chief minister three days after he took oath along with Ajit Pawar, who was sworn-in as the deputy chief minister, at an unusual early morning ceremony at Raj Bhavan


    Before you go ...
    • Fadnavis came up for praise from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who had described him as "Nagpur's gift to the country" at an election rally
    • Right across his house in Nagpur is a playground named after his father Gangadharrao
    • As a child, Devendra is said to have refused to go to a certain Ïndira Convent because it had the name of a leader who had jailed his father during the Emergency
    • Fadnavis's wife Amruta is a banker by profession and is currently employed with Axis Bank
    • The soft-spoken leader is a good orator and is also famous for helping his colleagues write fool-proof speeches by giving them well-researched data
    • A voracious reader of books on energy, taxes and economics, Fadnavis is known to enjoy a Subway sandwich as much as modak or puranpoli
    • He is a technology addict and always carries around an iPhone and iPad. He loves old Hindi songs and dialogues from Hindi movies

    Last Updated: 26/10/2021

    Devendra Fadnavis News

    • Chhagan Bhujbal rejoined the Maharashtra cabinet led by Devendra Fadnavis. He replaced Dhananjay Munde after a controversy. This move aims to strengthen OBC support for the Mahayuti alliance before local elections. Bhujbal's earlier denial of a cabinet position caused friction within the NCP. The BJP sees Bhujbal as crucial for mobilizing OBC voters.
    • Chhagan Bhujbal, a veteran Maharashtra politician, has navigated a long and controversial career, from his early days in the Shiv Sena to becoming a prominent OBC leader in the NCP. Despite facing corruption allegations and jail time, he has remained relevant by shifting allegiances and advocating for OBC reservations.
    • Senior NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal is set to rejoin the Maharashtra cabinet led by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, marking his return after a significant absence. He will be sworn in as minister by Governor C P Radhakrishnan. This inclusion follows Dhananjay Munde's resignation due to health reasons, with portfolio allocation to be determined by the Chief Minister.
    • Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis instructed banks to provide farm loans without CIBIL scores. He warned of action against banks that don't comply. A credit plan of Rs 44.76 lakh crore for the state was approved for 2025-26. Fadnavis emphasized agriculture's importance and urged banks to increase farm loan distribution.
    • Maharashtra Minister Ashish Shelar announced that ongoing road construction in Mumbai is 65% complete, but the May 31 deadline won't be met. He instructed officials to finish road curing by May 20 and halt new projects before monsoon. Shelar criticized the previous Shiv Sena-led BMC for slow progress, claiming current work is five times faster.
    • Sanjay Raut asserts his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate was politically motivated, stemming from his role in preventing the BJP from forming the government in Maharashtra in 2019 and acting as a bulwark for the Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government.
    • Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis acknowledged the Indian Defence Forces' strong response to Pakistan, emphasizing that direct warfare is no longer an option for the neighboring country. A review meeting was convened to assess Mumbai's security preparedness, given its vulnerability as India's economic capital and the potential for proxy wars.
    • Amidst the India-Pakistan tension, an important meeting was held between the defence forces and the state government at Varsha residence under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said that the state government will work in greater coordination with the defence forces.
    • Maharashtra government inaugurated a 91-feet bronze statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj at Rajkot Fort, Malvan. CM Fadnavis asserted its resilience against adverse weather for a century, a crucial point after the previous statue collapsed within eight months of its unveiling by PM Modi in December 2023. The opposition alleged corruption in the initial statue's construction, making it an election issue.
    • Maharashtra government has cancelled leaves for top officials in key departments. This decision follows a security review by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. The government will act against those spreading fake news. Mock drills for preparedness will occur in all districts. War rooms will be set up, and hospitals will coordinate during blackouts. Cybercrime will monitor social media.
    DisclaimerThe content of this page has been aggregated from multiple websites. Some information can change over the passage of time.
    The Economic Times
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