If we were not back-stabbed, Fadnavis would have been CM

Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrakant Patil on Monday said Devendra Fandavis would have been chief minister for another five years and broken former CM Vasantdada Naik's record if the party had not been "back stabbed", an apparent reference to the Shiv Sena breaking ties to form government with the Congress and NCP.

He was speaking at a function to felicitate Murlidhar Mohol for becoming Pune mayor. He said elections can't be won by "event management" and victory will have to be achieved by working for the masses like Fadnavis did.

He said people understood that Fadnavis worked honestly and that he was the one who would give reservations to the Maratha and Dhangar communities and waive off farm loans.

"A lot of people said being a Brahmin, he (Fadnavis) would not be accepted and that there will be a revolt in 6 to 8 months. But nothing of this happened. Had there been no back-stabbing, Fadnavis would have broken Vasantdada Naik's record and become CM for another five years," Patil said.

Reffering to all parties felicitating Mohol, Patil said, "Politics in the future will go on these lines. I sometimes say jokingly that if the Devendra Fadnavis government comes to power, why not to have a good Congress MLA such as Rajesh Tope in the cabinet." He also praised local NCP leader Ankush Kakade. Fadnavis said, unlike other states, all parties in Maharashtra were on cordial terms.

(Image Credit: PTI)