HIS MAGIC WORKS AGAIN, TOUCHES ALL & SUNDRY

DEVENDRA Fadnavis’s political journey is one of steady ascent rather than sudden arrival.

- SUDHIR SURYAWANSHI

It began in the narrow lanes of Nagpur’s municipal politics, where he began as a corporator in the Nagpur Municipal Corporation. From there, he rose methodically, emerging as a central force behind the Bharatiya Janata Party’s victories in Maharashtra in the 2014 and 2024 Assembly elections. That rise culminated in his elevation as chief minister. His latest achievement has only burnished that reputation. Under his stewardship, the BJP has surged ahead in civic elections across Maharashtra, placing the party firmly on course to capture the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), Asia’s richest civic body, along with key municipal corporations such as Pune, Navi Mumbai, Nashik, Nagpur, Jalgaon and Kalyan-Dombivli. The scale of the sweep has reinforced Fadnavis’s image as an election-winning strategist and administrator rolled into one. With the BJP poised to wrest control of Mumbai's civic crown, Fadnavis’s political standing has entered a new league. The outcome has strengthened whispers within political circles about his future beyond Maharashtra, placing him among leaders spoken of as potential national faces for the saffron party.