Maharashtra’s Deputy Chief Minister and BJP leader, Devendra Fadnavis, kicked off the Diwali festivities by asserting that the MahaYuti (grand coalition) government would retain power in the state. He welcomed former Mumbai Congress leader Ravi Raja into the BJP, and hinted at more prominent Congress leaders joining the party soon after Diwali.
“In the next few days, many Congress leaders will join the BJP. Don’t ask me who those Congress leaders are. The MahaYuti alliance (grand coalition) government will come back to power. One can see positivity in favour of the MahaYuti,” he added.
Asked a query over Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) Chief Raj Thackeray’s statement that the MahaYuti will form the government in the state, Deputy Chief Minister Fadnavis said, “What Raj Thackeray said is a good thing. But today I tell you that the MahaYuti government will come back to power in the state with its Chief Minister.”
Regarding conflicts over candidacies within MahaYuti, Fadnavis noted that the nomination period had ended on October 30, and some candidates from allied parties had filed nominations against each other.
He shared that a recent meeting hosted at Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s residence included key figures such as Deputy CM Ajit Pawar, BJP State Chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule, NCP leaders Praful Patel and Sunil Tatkare, where strategies to address the rebel and cross-candidacies were discussed.
Fadnavis was optimistic about a resolution, indicating that BJP rebels would likely retract their nominations by the final withdrawal date, November 4.
He further elaborated that MahaYuti allies have crafted a plan to handle the areas where inter-party candidates clashed. Campaigning, he noted, would begin on November 4 or 5, featuring high-profile figures like Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari, BJP President JP Nadda, and prominent state leaders. Fadnavis highlighted the BJP’s release of a list featuring 40 star campaigners for the state Assembly elections.
Addressing the independent nomination filed by former BJP MP Gopal Shetty, Fadnavis expressed confidence that Shetty would align with party protocol. Similarly, he spoke on Shiv Sena MLA Sada Sarvankar’s hesitation to withdraw in favor of MNS candidate Amit Thackeray in Mahim, noting that both he and Shinde support backing Raj Thackeray’s son, Amit.
In response to questions regarding NCP’s Nawab Malik’s candidacy from Mankhurd Shivajinagar, Fadnavis mentioned that Mumbai BJP Chief Ashish Shelar had stated the party would not campaign for Malik. Fadnavis himself aligned with this stance, adding that BJP’s efforts would instead support the Shiv Sena candidate contesting against Malik.
