Maharashtra witnessed a unique episode of Indian politics again in which a Chief Minister agreed to leave the top job and accepted a Deputy Chief Minister's post or Cabinet berth in the government. Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde resigned on Tuesday, paving the way for the appointment of a new Chief Minister. In the newly formed Mahayuti government, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and deputy to CM Shinde, Devendra Fadnavis, became the Chief Minister of the state, days after the ruling alliance received a landslide victory in the Maharashtra Assembly elections on November 23. The ruling Mahayuti coalition showed an impressive performance in the recent Assembly elections, securing a commanding 235 out of 288 seats. The BJP on its own walked away with 132 seats, followed by the Shiv Sena Shinde faction with 57 and the Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) with 41 seats.
Ajit Pawar backed Fadnavis for the top job in the state. On Wednesday, Shinde, whose Shive Sena had insisted on the CM post, said he was not in the CM race. However, he kept his cards close to his chest about his next role till the oath. With the Shinde's accepting the post of deputy to Fadnavis, a full circle of fate was completed as in the 2022 political saga, Fadnavis accepted the Deputy CM post despite being the top runner for the CM post.
Here, we listed some politicians who become Deputy CM or minister after quitting the chief ministerial post:
Devendra Fadnavis: In June 2022, in a surprise turn of events, Fadnavis took oath as Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister, giving the CM post to ally Shinde. Fadnavis was the Maharashtra Chief Minister from 2014 to 2019 after the BJP emerged as the single-largest party in the state for the first time in the 2014 Maharashtra Assembly elections with 122 seats.
Babulal Gaur: BJP leader Gaur has been chief minister of Madhya Pradesh from August 2004 to November 2005. He later accepted a ministerial post under the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government in 2008.
Narayan Rane: Rane, the 13th Chief Minister of Maharashtra, accepted a ministerial post after quitting the top job in 1999. He served as minister in four terms: November 2010-October 2014, August 2005-December 2008, November 2009-November 2010, and February 2009-November 2009.
Ashok Chavan: Chavan, who was the 16th Chief Minister of Maharashtra from 2008-2009 and again from 2009 to 2010, accepted a ministerial post in the Uddhav Thackeray government in 2019.
Shivajirao Patil Nilangekar: The 10th Chief Minister of Maharashtra (June 1985-March 1986), Nilangekar also served as the Cabinet minister in the Sushilkumar Shinde government in 2003.
TR Zeliang: Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) leader TR Zeliang has been the 10th Chief Minister of Nagaland from 2014 to 2017 and again from 2017 to 2018. Currently, he is Deputy Chief Minister under the Neiphiu Rio government.
O Panneerselvam: Panneerselvam (OPS), a close aide of the late J Jayalalithaa, has been Tamil Nadu Chief Minister for three terms. He first served as CM in 2001-02 and then in 2014-15 after Jayalalithaa had to go to jail in corruption-related cases. He stepped down every time and accepted a ministerial post after she returned from jail and retained the CM post. OPS became the CM for the third and last time for a brief period from 2016 to 2017 after the death of Jayalalithaa. He later accepted the Deputy Chief Minister's post in the Edappadi Palaniswami Cabinet.
Suresh Mehta: BJP leader Mehta has been Chief Minister of Gujarat from October 1995 to September 1996. He later served as a minister in the Cabinet of Keshubhai Patel in 1998.
Dr Wilfred de Souza: He was the first Deputy Chief Minister of Goa from 1980 to 1983 and became the Chief Minister in 1993. Later, he again accepted the Deputy CM post twice, in 1994 and 2005.
Ravi Sitaram Naik: Naik was the Goa Chief Minister twice in 1991 and 1994. He became the Deputy CM of Goa under Manohar Parrikar in 2000. He accepted the various Cabinet portfolios under different Chief Ministers and most recently became the Cabinet minister for Agriculture, Handicrafts, and Civil Supplies under Dr Pramod Sawant in 2022.
Churchill Alemao: He was the second Goa Chief Minister for just 18 days from March 27, 1990, to April 14, 1990. He became the Cabinet minister in 1999 and again from 2007 to 2012.
Rajinder Kaur Bhattal: Congress leader Bhattal was the first woman Chief Minister of Punjab from 1996 to 1997. She became the Punjab Deputy CM under Captain Amarinder Singh in 2004 as a part of a compromise deal and remained till 2007.
Tika Ram Paliwal: He was the Rajasthan Chief Minister briefly in 1952 when the incumbent Chief Minister Jai Narayan Vyas lost the election. He became the Deputy Chief Minister again under Vyas from 1952 to 1954.
Hemananda Biswal: He was the Odisha Chief Minister twice in 1989 and 1999. He became the Deputy CM of Odisha under Janaki Ballabh Patnaik from 1998 to 1999.
VR Nedunchezhiyan: He served as the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister thrice in 1969, 1984, and 1987. He also served as a Cabinet minister under the governments of CN Annadurai, M Karunanidhi, MG Ramachandran, and J Jayalalithaa.
Also read: Maharashtra CM's race nears end as Eknath Shinde backs BJP for top post: Top Quotes
