FADNAVIS IS NOW MAHA’S SECOND LONGEST-SERVING CHIEF MINISTER
MUMBAI: Devendra Fadnavis this week became the second-longest serving chief minister (CM) of Maharashtra in a single tenure.
Fadnavis, who belongs to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), on Tuesday, completed 1,496 days (four years, one month and five days) as CM since taking oath on October 31, 2014. He beat former CM Vilasrao Deshmukh, who belonged to the Congress and served in office for 1,495 days (between November 1, 2004, and December 4, 2008).
Deshmukh, taking moral responsibility for the 26/11 terror attacks that happened in the city, resigned before he could complete his full tenure.
Former chief minister Vasantrao Naik, also a Congressman, remains the only CM of the state (since it was formed in 1960) to complete a full five-year-term (between March 1, 1967, and March 13, 1972). He has also served the longest tenure — 4,097 days in three terms (between 1967 and 1975).Fadnavis will likely become the second CM to complete a full term in office. At 44, he also became the second youngest CM of Maharashtra while taking office, after Sharad Pawar — who was 37 when he took over.
Political observer Prakash Bal said, “The success of any CM should be gauged by outcomes rather than days in office. In case of Fadnavis, not even 20% of the state’s people can say their lives have changed in the last four years.”