Devendra Gangadharrao Fadnavis is an Indian politician serving as the 9th and current Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra since 30 June 2022. He served as the 18th and former Chief Minister of Maharashtra from 31 October 2014 to 12 November 2019. Having been sworn in at the age of 44, he is the second-youngest Chief Minister in Maharashtra's history after Sharad Pawar. He served a 5-day long second term as Chief Minister during the 2019 Maharashtra political crisis, before resigning on 28 November 2019. He is also the only person to have served both as the Chief Minister and the Deputy Chief Minister of the state of Maharashtra. He is an activist with the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. Fadnavis has represented the Nagpur South West constituency in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly since 2009.

Early and education

Fadnavis was born in a Marathi Hindu Deshastha Rigvedi Brahmin family to Gangadhar Fadnavis and Sarita Fadnavis in Nagpur.[4] His father, Gangadhar Fadnavis, served as a member of the Maharashtra Legislative Council from Nagpur. His mother, Sarita Fadnavis, a descendant of the Kaloti family of Amravati, was a former director of the Vidarbha Housing Credit Society.

Fadnavis did his initial schooling at Indira Convent, named after then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. During the Emergency, Fadnavis' father, being a member of the Jan Sangh, was imprisoned for participating in anti-government protests. Fadnavis subsequently refused to continue his schooling at Indira Convent as he did not want to attend a school named after the Prime Minister he held responsible for imprisoning his father. He was then transferred to the Saraswati Vidyalaya School, Nagpur, where he received most of his schooling. Fadnavis attended Dharampeth Junior College for his higher secondary.

Fadnavis holds a graduate degree in law from Government Law College, Nagpur University, a post-graduate degree in Business Management and a diploma in Methods and Techniques of Project Management from DSE-German Foundation for International Development, Berlin, Germany.

Political career

Fadnavis began his political career in the mid-nineties. Since that time he served in multiple leadership roles for both his political party and as an elected representative. As a college student, Fadnavis was an active member of the BJP affiliated Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP). in the year 1992 at the age of 22 and became a Corporator. 5 years later, in 1997, Fadnavis at 27 became the youngest mayor of the Nagpur Municipal Corporation and became the second-youngest mayor in the history of India.

Fadnavis is representing Nagpur in the Legislative Assembly of Maharashtra State (Vidhan Sabha) since 1999.

Chief Minister of Maharashtra (2014-2019) 1st Term

Fadnavis took over as the legislative party leader by the BJP MLAs in the presence of the party's central observers, Union Home minister Rajnath Singh and the party's National General Secretary Jagat Prakash Nadda after being elected to the position. As the leader of the largest party in Maharashtra state assembly, Fadnavis was appointed as the chief minister of Maharashtra on 31 October 2014. His government won a confidence motion by voice vote on 12 November 2014 allowing it to govern.

Flagship projects and initiatives

Jalyukta Shivar Abhiyan

In 2014, Fadnavis launched the Jalyukta Shivar Abhiyan to address the water shortage issue of Maharashtra's hinterland. The programme was aimed at enabling water percolation and groundwater level improvement across 25,000 drought-affected villages in Maharashtra.

Mumbai next

Fadnavis launched ‘Mumbai Next' on 30 January 2015, which was termed a roadmap to convert the country's financial capital into a global financial and entertainment hub. On 6 February, the Fadnavis government held a high-profile conference under the project's umbrella, which was attended by Tata Sons Ltd chairman Cyrus Mistry, Reliance Industries Ltd chairman Mukesh Ambani, and other prominent business leaders.

Marathwada Water Grid Project

In 2019, the Fadnavis-led Governance initiated a scheme to set up a water grid project in Marathwada to address the drought situation. The cost of the scheme was proposed at Rs 4,293 Crore. Fadnavis initiated this water grid project and lifted water from Konkan to the Godavari basin to make droughts in Marathwada "A history".

The water grid and other new schemes were introduced to make Marathwada shed the tag of being a drought-prone region. This region comprises eight districts that have always been a low rainfall region and this grid project aims to create an integrated piped network to supply water for industrial, agricultural, and drinking purposes throughout the year. This ambitious project came to hold due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. As of March 2022, Israel is preparing a plan for the water grid project along with the Maharashtra Government.

Chief Minister of Maharashtra (2019-2019) 2nd Term

On 23 November 2019, Fadnavis formed a government with the help of Ajit Pawar of NCP; however, this government only lasted for a few days. During this short period, Fadnavis chaired a climate resilience meeting with representatives of the World Bank, restarted the Chief Minister's refund cell, and sanctioned ₹5380 crores in aid for farmers.

Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra (2022-present)1st Term

Following the 2022 Maharashtra political crisis, on 30 June 2022, Fadnavis took oath as the 9th Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra with Eknath Shinde as the chief minister.

Awards and recognition

International accolades

Fadnavis has been conferred with Honorary Doctorate by Osaka City University, Japan. The 120-year-old university then had so far conferred its supreme honorary degree on only 10 distinguished persons in the world and Fadnavis was the first Indian to be conferred with the same for the socio-economic development in Maharashtra.

In June 2018, Fadnavis received the Outstanding Leadership in Development Award by Georgetown University, The United States which he dedicated to the people of Maharashtra.

Best Parliamentarian Award by Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (2002–03)

Controversies

In April 2016, while addressing a rally in Nashik, Fadnavis said that every Indian will have to chant 'Bharat Mata ki Jai', and those who refuse to chant the slogan should not live in the country and instead go to Pakistan or China. The day after these statements, Fadnavis issued a clarification after he found himself embroiled in a controversy over the issue.

Political views

In November 2020, Fadnavis stated that the view of the BJP is advocacy for Indian reunification in the form of an Akhand Bharat. He declared that "Karachi will be part of India."

Positions held

Organisational

Ward President, BJYM (1989)
Office Bearer, Nagpur (west) BJP (1990)
Nagpur President, BJYM (1992)
State Vice President, BJYM (1994)
National Vice President, BJYM (2001)
General Secretary, BJP, Maharashtra (2010)
President, BJP Maharashtra (2013)
In Charge, BJP Goa (2022)
Organisational President, Rambhau Mhalgi Prabodhini (2021)

Electoral

Mayor of Nagpur – (1997 to 2001)
Member, Maharashtra Legislative Assembly - 5 consecutive terms since 1999
Chief Minister of Maharashtra (2014-2019)
Leader of the Opposition in Maharashtra Legislative Assembly (1 December 2019 – 29 June 2022)
Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra (30 June 2022 − Incumbent)