Fadnavis was in the loop, took Maharashtra Deputy CM post to honour PM Modi's call: Sources

New Delhi: BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis was in the loop all along and aware of the developments taking place in the State said sources on Saturday and added that he accepted the post of the Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra to honour the call of the top party leadership.

"Devendra was aware of every development that was happening in Maharashtra and without him and his sharp political acumen this could not have really happened. Therefore, it is too far-fetched to say that Fadnavis was not kept in the loop," a top functionary of the party told ANI.

Fadnavis went ahead and took oath as a Deputy CM after a call from PM Modi on at least two occasions, sources told ANI. Also, an appeal was made to Fadnavis on Twitter by BJP national president JP Nadda as well as Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

"There was no instruction given to Fadnavis and nobody knew that he would make an announcement that he will not be part of the government," a top leader of the party told ANI.

The sources further said that Fadnavis was asked to reconsider his decision after he made the announcement.
"Fadnavis has been a top administrator and an upright leader therefore he would be a huge addition to the government and the moment the party realized that he had made a surprise announcement he was asked to reconsider his decision within a couple of hours," the sources added.

"Devendra has been a loyal party cadre, who has risen from the ranks and therefore he understands the discipline in the system," a senior party functionary told ANI.

The sources also praised Fadnavis and said it was because of his leadership as the Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra Assembly that the party was able to win the third Rajya Sabha seat recently and also stage a massive coup against the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena government in the state.

On Thursday evening, Eknath Shinde took oath as the 20th Chief Minister of Maharashtra and Fadnavis took oath as the Deputy Chief Minister.

Meanwhile, with other contours to be settled and ministries to be declared, Devendra Fadnavis has decided to skip the BJP national executive meeting in Hyderabad and focus on the State. (ANI)