Fadnavis now the CM with shortest tenure in Maharashtra history
Mumbai, Nov 26: Once being the only second chief minister in Maharashtra to complete the full five-year term, BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis now holds the dubious distinction of being the CM with the shortest tenure of four days in the last 59 years, a downhill journey which underlines transient nature of politics.
On Tuesday afternoon, Devendra Gangadharrao Fadnavis, 49, resigned from his post, only three days after he made a dramatic comeback as the chief minister for a second term with the support of NCP leader Ajit Pawar, who had broken ranks with his parent party to lend support to the BJP.
Jagdambika Pal was Uttar Pradesh's CM for 44 hours in 1998 and BS Yediyurappa was Karnataka's CM for three days in 2018. Satish Prasad Singh served as Bihar's CM for five days in 1968. PK Sawant became Maharashtra's CM for 10 days in 1963.
However, what was supposed to be a dream run for Fadnavis came to an abrupt end in afternoon after Ajit Pawar stepped down as deputy CM, exposing the BJP's claim that it had majority in the 288-member Assembly.
Earlier P K Sawant held the record of being the Maharashtra CM with the shortest term-- from November 25 to December 4, 1963. He was made the caretaker chief minister after the death of his predecessor Marotrao Kannamwar.
Fadnavis' previous term as the chief minister lasted from October 31, 2014 to November 12, 2019, making him only the second CM after Vasantrao Naik of the Congress to last the full five-year term.
The second tenure of Fadnavis lasted from November 23 to November 26, 2019.
The four-day-old BJP-led government collapsed on the eve of the supreme court-ordered floor test in the Assembly, after Ajit Pawar quit as deputy CM citing "personal reasons".
Fadnavis too resigned while admitting that the BJP had lost majority in the House.
The collapse of the nascent government capped the month-long uncertainty in Maharashtra politics, which witnessed many twists and turns since the results of the assembly elections were declared on October 24.
Fadnavis remained CM till November 8, as the tenure of the 13th Legislative Assembly had ended.
He submitted his resignation on November 8 and changed his twitter bio to "caretaker" chief minister of Maharashtra.
Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari on November 9 asked Fadnavis, the leader of the BJP's legislative wing, to indicate willingness and ability of his party to form government. The BJP won maximum 105 seats in the assembly polls held last month.
However, as the BJP failed to muster numbers, the governor invited the Shiv Sena, the second largest bloc in the 288-member Assembly with 56 MLAs, to stake claim, and later the NCP.
With no party having the requisite numbers, President's Rule was imposed in the state on November 12, which was lifted on November 23.
On that day, Fadnavis had changed his twitter bio to "Maharashtra's Sevak".
He again changed the twitter bio to "caretaker CM of Maharashtra" on Tuesday, as no CM is in place right now.
On Tuesday evening, the governor convened a special session of the Assembly on November 27, where pro-tem speaker will administer oath to 288 newly-elected members and conduct floor test.
The 'Maha Vikas Aghadi' comprising the Shiv Sena, NCP and the Congress had claimed majority support of 162 MLAs in the House.
The NCP has already announced that Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray is the chief ministerial candidate of new government.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Akash Singh says signature celebration fuels motivation, reinforces dominance
Lucknow (PTI): Pacer Akash Singh caught the eye with his unique celebration during Lucknow Super Giants' win over Chennai Super Kings, pulling out a piece of paper from his pocket after a wicket, a gesture he said was aimed at "motivating" himself and "asserting dominance" over batters.
The left-arm pacer pulled out a scrappy piece of paper after each of the three wickets he took in LSG seven-wicket win over CSK, with the message reading: "Akki on fire -- Akash knows how to take wickets in T20 cricket.
The 24-year-old, who began his IPL journey with Rajasthan Royals and was part of Chennai Super Kings’ title-winning campaign in 2023 before moving to Lucknow Super Giants, registered his best IPL figures with 3 for 26 on Friday.
"'Akki knows how to take wickets in T20 cricket', right?" Akash said when asked about the message on the piece of paper, adding that it serves as a source of motivation and helps him focus on dominating batters and delivering stronger performances for the team.
"Different things motivate different people. Some days I show the paper, some days I don't, but it reflects my mindset on that particular day. When you carry a piece of paper with something written on it, you manifest things and the most important part is when those manifestations actually materialise," he added.
Akash, who hails from Bharatpur in Rajasthan, said the strong backing from the Lucknow Super Giants support staff over the last two years had played a huge role in his growth as a cricketer.
"I've been with LSG for two years and the most important thing has been the backing from the coaches, even when I'm not in the playing XI. This year we have Bharat Arun sir, last year Zaheer sir was there...Tom Moody. The way they guide us, prepare us and keep us ready for opportunities is very important when there are 25 players in the squad," he said.
"When you are not playing, you naturally seek backing and every player wants to make the most of the opportunities he gets. The support from the captain also matters a lot and with Rishabh bhaiya backing you, the confidence grows and you are able to perform better," Akash said, referring to Rishabh Pant.
Akash said Pant had asked him to trust his strengths ahead of the clash against CSK.
"He told me that the new ball is my strength and that I can swing it both ways. So I just tried to make the best use of my skills. The wicket also had good bounce, so I focused on using the bouncer effectively,” added Akash.
On his success against CSK, Akash said his experience of playing in the IPL since 2020, including a stint with CSK, helped him understand the opposition batters better, while backing his own strengths with the ball also played a key role in his impressive spell.
"Obviously, when you play in the IPL and have shared the dressing room with some players, you understand their strengths and weaknesses. My focus was first to back my own strengths, then exploit their weaknesses and also make the best use of what the wicket was offering," Akash said.
Akash said he had sensed over the last two-three games that an opportunity could come his way after being repeatedly told to "be ready", though he admitted he was unfortunate not to get a chance earlier.
"Two days before the match, during practice, I was told to be ready," he said.
Clarifying that he had not been carrying the piece of paper in anticipation, Akash said he often notes down thoughts that could help improve his game..
"Whenever I’m alone or about to sleep, any thought that comes to my mind which can help my cricket, I write it down. The other night I got this thought and jotted it down on paper," he added.
