Maharashtra: Devendra went to Vadodara via Indore to dodge the Thackeray camp, Amit Shah did not even open his cards in front of Fadnavis

Political developments continued in Maharashtra for about 10 days and after that on June 30, the Eknath Shinde faction formed the government with the help of BJP. Eknath Shinde took oath as Chief Minister while former Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis took oath as Deputy Chief Minister. The most dramatic turn of events came when BJP President JP Nadda announced on TV that Devendra Fadnavis would take over as the Deputy Chief Minister.

Senior journalist Komi Kapoor in The Indian Express wrote that the surprise announcement of Eknath Shinde as chief minister and the acceptance of Devendra Fadnavis as deputy chief minister were Amit Shah’s impressions. Fadnavis played a role in the revolt of Shiv Sena. He kept Amit Shah informed of the developments in Maharashtra from the very beginning. Operation Topal was so secret that when Devendra Fadnavis went to Vadodara to meet Amit Shah and Shinde on the night of 25 June, he was the first to board a plane to Indore to drive away Thackeray’s men.

The BJP worked on Eknath Shinde for more than six months. The Shiv Sena leader was particularly stunned when Income Tax officials raided the premises of a close aide of Shinde. Amit Shah and Fadnavis have settled their differences for a long time. But Amit Shah saw the rise of Shinde and the humiliation of Fadnavis as part of a long-term strategy to bring the powerful Maratha caste to the BJP fold and weaken the army.

Himself Devendra Fadnavis was kept in the dark about his future role till the end. So despite his reluctance to accept the post of Deputy CM, he had to accept it. There is no cabinet distribution in Maharashtra. Now it has to be seen which department goes to Shinde faction and which department comes to BJP.

Shinde claimed that he has the support of 50 MLAs while BJP already has 106 MLAs. The BJP also has the support of independents. The then Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray had resigned even before the floor test.