Eight hurdles for Devendra Fadnavis ahead

Devendra Fadnavis, the 44-year-old CM designate is only two days away from taking over as the chief minister of Maharashtra. His roots in the RSS, his grooming in the state BJP in Nagpur, an impressive record in the state assembly during debates, push for development as the mayor and then MLA from Nagpur and his impeccable taint-free record in public life earned him the most coveted job.

But even as he overlooks the arrangements at Wankhede Stadium and prepares for his swearing-in on Friday afternoon, the law graduate has a series of challenges awaiting him. Running a state as politically, financially and culturally diverse as Maharashtra isn’t an easy job anyway but, besides the administration of the state, the new CM’s political maturity and finesse will be put to test almost immediately.

We list eight major challenges that await Fadnavis as he walks into the CM’s chamber on Friday.

1. For now, the Shiv Sena is not on board while the NCP has offered outside support. Managing a minority government isn’t likely to be a cakewalk for the CM. Ego tussles and demands may come into play if the BJP remains dependent on the NCP’s support.

2. The Sena has been bargaining hard for ministerial berths including the position of the deputy chief minister, a post the new government is likely to scrap. If he wants to take along his party’s former ally, Fadnavis will have to give in to demands made by the Sena for ministries and leadership of various corporations and government bodies.

3. As of now, the BJP has managed to win over the Independents who held a meeting at a south Mumbai hotel on Monday to chart out a list of demands that include ministerial berths and appointments to key corporations in the state. Will Fadnavis give in to these demands considering he needs the numbers? They are likely to bargain hard and bag important posts.

4. Danger isn’t only from the outside. The past few days exposed that the state BJP is a fragmented unit with various factions demanding CM ship for their leaders. With the absolute support of the party bosses, he managed to effectively quell opposition to his nomination as the CM but the other CM-hopefuls are likely to make their displeasure clear in the days to come. Only a few days after the BJP hinted at the Nagpur MLA being the frontrunner for the CM’s post, sections within the party raised their heads, opposing his candidature. So, Eknath Khadse, Nitin Gadkari and Sudhir Mungantiwar became the most discussed names in the state. Earlier, Pankaja Munde had indicated that her supporters wanted her to be the first woman CM of the state. Fadnavis needs to play the balancing act well to appease all factions.

5. At 44, he is the second youngest chief minister of Maharashtra, only after Sharad Pawar. His council of ministers will have several senior BJP leaders who are at least a decade older than him. Managing egos and maintaining a healthy relationship will be a major job for the new CM.

6. If the demand for a separate state of Vidarbha grows, how will the new CM manage it? He’s a popular leader from Vidarbha, representing the urban face of the region. His party isn’t entirely opposed to the creation of smaller states while former ally, the Shiv Sena, strongly rejects the proposal. With 44 MLAs, Vidarbha is a politically strong force in the new assembly.

7. Weeding out corruption was Fadnavis’ big election promise. His personal integrity cannot be challenged and his taint-free record in public life is a major plus but if he does take outside support from the NCP, will he be able to freely investigate charges of corruption against the party?

8. Administration of the state will be his biggest task. Lack of development and the unplanned growth of cities, especially Mumbai, is a major grouse among the voters in the state. Among the key expectations from Fadnavis’ government will be to check this — get stalled projects moving, clean up the mess in the irrigation department and improve the power situation.