NEW DELHI: Amruta Fadnavis, wife of Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, credited her husband’s political success to his patience and perseverance as he assumed office as CM for the third time following the BJP’s landslide victory in the Maharashtra assembly polls.
“Patience and perseverance are the main qualities that have taken Devendra Fadnavis to where he is,” she told reporters on Thursday, expressing happiness at his sixth consecutive term as an MLA and his third stint as chief minister. However, she stressed the heavy responsibility of fulfilling the government’s mandate.
Fadnavis, who previously served as CM from 2014 to 2019, had famously coined the slogan “Me Punha Yein” (I will come back again) during the 2019 assembly elections. Despite securing 105 seats, the BJP’s fallout with the Shiv Sena kept him from reclaiming the top post, though he briefly held an 80-hour term with Ajit Pawar as deputy.
He faced further challenges in 2022 when the Maha Vikas Aghadi government fell, and Eknath Shinde took the chief minister’s position, relegating Fadnavis to the deputy CM role. His “Me Punha Yein” slogan became a source of mockery during these years.
Finally, the BJP emerged triumphant in the recent elections, winning 132 seats and bringing the Mahayuti alliance back to power with a commanding majority in the 288-member assembly.
Reflecting on this victory, Amruta Fadnavis said, “He wanted to come back to work for the welfare of Maharashtra.”