Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has exuded confidence that the BJP-led coalition government will return to power after the 2024 Assembly elections. “I am glad you invited me and CM Eknath Shinde for this event this year. Let me tell you that next December also you can invite us, as our government will be in power. Besides us you must also invite deputy CM Ajit Pawar, who is also a player,” the BJP leader said during a function organised by a Marathi TV channel in Mumbai on Saturday. The Lok Sabha elections are scheduled for April-May and Assembly elections for October- November next year. The BJP has embarked on a statewide campaign to highlight policies and programmes undertaken under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Centre and Shinde, Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar in the state. State BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule said, “We are confident of doing well because we work for people’s welfare. Under the leadership of Modi at the Centre, we have focused on empowerment of the poor and oppressed. In Maharashtra under the collective leadership of Shinde, Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar, the Maha Yuti is making concerted efforts to provide benefits to everyone.” Despite emerging as the largest party in 2019, the BJP was relegated to the Opposition as its alliance partner Shiv Sena joined the alliance of the NCP and Congress. The Maha Vikas Aghadi, led by then chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, ruled for two and a half years. After engineering a split in the Shiv Sena, the BJP formed a coalition government in Maharashtra with Shinde as chief minister in 2022. A year later, in July, the BJP split the NCP. And the Ajit Pawar- led NCP faction joined the government. The BJP’s 106 MLAs, Shiv Sena’s (Shinde faction) 40, the Ajit Pawar-led NCP’s 41 and 10 independents make the 197 ruling legislators in the Assembly. In the 288-member House, the Congress has 44 MLAs, Shiv Sena (UBT) 16 and the NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) 13.
