Without any doubt, the newly elected Maharashtra Chief Minister, Devendra Fadnavis, is the new rising star of the Sangh Parivar. By ensuring that the Maha Yuti came to power with a convincing win in the recently concluded Assembly polls, Fadnavis, has proved his mettle as a political leader, who has a bright future and could be in contention for the leadership of the country at some point of time. He has a distinct advantage over many of his contemporaries since he has the blessings of the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh, which played a pivotal role in his appointment, particularly when the Shiv Sena boss and former Chief Minister, now deputy CM, Eknath Shinde, seemed adamant at taking over the post. Several top BJP leaders at the Centre were willing to accommodate Shinde, but the RSS put its foot down and refused to shift its stand. Fadnavis has been a Sangh loyalist since very early in life and has acquired his political skills from senior functionaries of the Sangh Parivar. He had been responsible for breaking both the Shiv Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party and agreeing to play second fiddle when the Maha Yuti government was formed. His sacrifice did not go unnoticed and the Sangh was simply waiting to reward him, and has done precisely that when the opportune moment came.
Many political pundits believe that the unfolding drama in the State is not over as yet and another round of politicking may take place in the not-too-distant future. What has become a cause of worry for some is that the optics of a Brahmin Chief Minister and two Maratha deputy Chief Ministers is something which could have its repercussions at some point of time. However, the arrangement shall remain undisturbed for the time being, at least till the municipality elections are over, and consequently each group would use its clout to assert its claim for bigger things. What has gone unnoticed is that the swearing in of the new government and its overwhelming victory in the Assembly polls, has sent alarm signals within the Maha Vikas Aghadi. Both, Sharad Pawar and Uddhav Thackeray may be concerned over the outcome and may have already got into damage control. When the BJP had secured 240 seats in the Lok Sabha elections, 63 less than 2019, there were doubts which were expressed over the longevity of the Central government in many quarters. The fallout of the Maharashtra polls is that many MPs, who had got elected on the Shiv Sena (Uddhav) and NCP (SP) may look for options other than their present parties. There is a possibility, that these MPs, at least the majority of them could shift to the BJP, and leave their leadership in the lurch. The MPs would be greatly concerned on how they would be re-elected the next time and thus may say good bye to their present leaders and gravitate towards Narendra Modi and Amit Shah. It is not without a reason, that some political analysts who have watched Modi and Shah operate had foreseen the possibility of the Prime Minister cobbling a majority of his own, without being dependent on both Chandrababu Naidu and Nitish Kumar, who can change their positions at a future date. Modi is unlikely to leave anything to chance and in the coming few months, would ensure that the BJP had the numbers of its own and was self-sufficient in running the Central government even in the eventuality (unlikely at this stage) of the two major allies shifting loyalties or having second thoughts over extending support. This is politics at its best and should also make Congress worried since many of its MPs, may do likewise, given that they are in touch with the BJP leadership quietly. The Congress has been hit by desertions in the past and could be affected in the future as well, since the mechanism to keep everyone together has proved inadequate on previous occasions.
As it is, the cracks within the INDIA bloc are getting more pronounced and the leadership seems oblivious of these developments. The insistence to push its own agenda at the cost of a joint program to keep the opposition unity intact, is proving to be suicidal. The need of the hour is to keep the flock together and not play the big brother since this is not the time nor the space with the BJP wresting the initiative of setting the narrative once again. Modi and Shah have perfected the game of outwitting their opponents and shall not allow any opportunities to go waste.
Coming back to Fadnavis, his showing has put him at par with those who are looking towards succeeding Modi as and when the time comes. He shall have to face the challenge from many aspirants within his own party including Shah and Yogi Adityanath. However, there is still time for this, and who knows what would happen by the time the next parliamentary polls come. Modi may declare himself to be available thus putting all other claimants in the background. For Fadnavis, the real test would be to keep the Maha Yuti intact, particularly in view of the fact that both Ajit Pawar and Eknath Shinde have played this game much longer, and can always change their positions to suit their politics. Fortunately for him, the BJP has enough numbers of its own and also the support of many independents. Moreover, Ajit Pawar and Shinde know at this point, that it was more important to prolong their political careers and wait for their turn, if at all it comes.
