When Devendra Fadnavis rose from his seat and started walking towards podium in Azad Maidan, Mumbai, everybody stopped talking. There was silence as people were watching swearing-in ceremony live on huge screens in Nagpur. People were eager to listen to him to say the words, “I, Devendra Sarita Gangadharrao Fadnavis.......” and Nagpur city erupted in celebration. The sound of bursting of fire-crackers was heard everywhere, people shouted slogans. The glorious moment of Fadnavis taking oath as Maharashtra Chief Minister for the third time was celebrated by distributing sweets amidst the sound of drums and dhol. Women participated in the celebration by playing phugdi. At several junctions in the city, giant screens were put up so that people could watch the swearing-in ceremony live.

 

The preparation of the celebrations began from Thursday morning itself. At some places, rangolis were drawn, people came out of the home wearing new clothes. Some people treated this occasion like Diwali. The workers burst fire-crackers, shouted slogans “Devendraji go ahead, we are with you” to the sound of drums and cymbals. “It is no less than Diwali. People like us who stay near the residence of Devendraji near Trikoni Park, Dharampeth, putting up traditional lighting on the houses. We will keep this lighting till Friday as we want to celebrate this moment with fervour. This day must be celebrated as he brought this success through his intelligence, hard work and resilience. He has brought Maharashtra and Nagpur on global map as Maharashtra elections were watched the world over,” said Kunal Ekbote, a friend of Devendra Fadnavis and his neighbour since childhood.

 

The city, which has been Fadnavis’ political stronghold, witnessed jubiliant scenes as his supporters and Bharatiya Janata Party workers took to the streets, distributing sweets and bursting crackers, shouting slogans. Fadnavis’ journey from being a corporator in the Nagpur civic body to becoming the Chief Minister of Maharashtra is a testament to his dedication and perseverance. As the city celebrates his achievements, it is clear that Fadnavis has made a lasting impact on Nagpur and Maharashtra state.

 

There was an atmosphere of double happiness among every BJP worker, as a Nagpur resident became the Chief Minister of the State once again, on the other hand, MLA from East Nagpur Krishna Khopde, who won with the highest number of votes in Vidarbha, expressed confidence that Nagpur would get more funds as Fadnavis became the Chief Minister. For Harshal Arvikar, childhood friend of Fadnavis, happiness knew no bounds. “For us, he is still like a boy next door. We celebrated his every achievement from when he became Corporator, then Mayor, then MLA, then State BJP President, then Chief Minister. It was he, under whose leadership, BJP first won seats in three digits in State. But we haven’t found any change in him when we meet him,” said Arvikar. At every step of his journey Fadnavis kept achieving success. He kept coming with flying colours. He inherited leadership qualities from his father late Gangadharrao Fadnavis who himself was MLC. His mother Sarita taught Fadnavis discipline. The failure never gave him depression. He has the spirit to fight. We witnessed it from close quarters, pointed out Adv Uday Dable, friend of Fadnavis. In 2022, BJP came back with the support of Eknath Shinde and party asked Fadnavis to take charge as Deputy Chief Minister. The person who once was Chief Minister accepted party order gracefully. Nagpur welcomed him then also with fervor and one poster kept attracting everybody--’Devmanus’ displayed by Parinay Fuke. Journey of Fadnavis is full of struggle. This election tested his spirit as he faced a lot of criticism from his opponents. Bawankule calls it a moment of satisfaction Chandrashekhar Bawankule, BJP State President tweeted. In his tweet he said, ‘We were eager to listen to Devendraji’s words when he would take oath as Chief Minister. It was a moment of satisfaction for us. No situation deterred him as he kept smiling all the time. He would surely give Maharashtra a new direction, and will take this state at top.’