Billboards in Nagpur hail a ‘faceless Fadnavis’ as new Maharashtra CM

Each of the billboards bore the vague image of a man’s back, presumably Fadnavis, and boldly proclaimed: ‘Mi punha yaeel’ (I will return)

NAGPUR: As Maharashtra holds its breath, waiting for word on the state’s new chief minister, it seems Nagpur has the inside story. The home turf of BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis, the city awoke on Monday to mysterious billboards strategically put up street-side and in busy city squares.

Billboards in Nagpur hail a ‘faceless Fadnavis’ as the new CM

Revealing more than they concealed, each one bore the vague image of a man’s back, presumably Fadnavis, and boldly proclaimed: ‘Mi punha yaeel’ (I will return). The billboards left little doubt about whom they were hailing as the new chief minister – the slogan is closely associated with Fadnavis, Maharashtra chief minister from 2014 to 2019, and widely tipped to be the new CM this time as well.

Fadnavis famously used the slogan in his 2019 election campaign and was later ridiculed when he failed to form a government after the betrayal of his pre-poll ally, Uddhav Thackeray, leader of the then undivided Shiv Sena. One billboard, at the bustling Shankar Nagar Square near Fadnavis’s Dharampeth residence, said in Hindi, ‘Wapas ana padta hai’ (One must return) to evoke the idea of completing unfulfilled tasks.

Meanwhile, the rumour mill has it that the BJP is delaying announcing Fadnavis’s appointment as chief minister on the advice of his astrologer, who has urged the party to wait until after December 2 due to the ongoing Amavasya shadow (lunar phase). There is widespread belief among the NDA leadership and Mahayuti proponents that there is a consensus on Fadnavis’s nomination for the post but the party is biding its time until optimal planetary alignment before making an official announcement. Party insiders said this is why the formality of electing the BJP legislature party leader has been postponed until after December 2.

The BJP central leadership has decided to send two observers—former Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani and Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman—to Mumbai. They will organise a meeting with all the newly elected BJP MLAs, who are expected to vote in favour of Fadnavis as the leader of the party’s legislative wing. This step is necessary before Fadnavis can approach the Governor to stake his claim to form a new government.

Meanwhile, at least 25 individuals from Nagpur have received personal invitations from the office of Devendra Fadnavis in Mumbai, to attend the swearing-in ceremony scheduled for December 5, at 5 pm. Shivani Dani, General Secretary of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) and a close associate of Fadnavis, said that around 1,000 party workers, primarily office-bearers from Nagpur and surrounding areas, will attend the oath-taking ceremony in Mumbai.”