Devendra Fadnavis: The student who left a school named 'Indira' is now Maharashtra's CM for the third time.

Devendra Fadnavis Biography: Early Life, Education, Family, and Political Career

Devendra Fadnavis is currently serving as CM of Maharashtra for the third time. He took oath on 5th December 2024. His previous stint as CM was between 2014 to 2019 and later for a brief between 23 November 2019 to 28 November 2019. He had also served as a Deputy CM of Mahayuti government between June 2022 to December 2024.

Name: Devendra Fadnavis

Mother's Name: Sarita Fadnavis

Father's Name: Gangadhar Kashi Rao Fadnavis

Devendra Fadnavis Education: LLB ( 1992), Management Diploma in methods & techniques of project management, Berlin (1998)

Devendra Fadnavis Date of Birth: 22nd July 1970

Place of Birth: Nagpur, Maharashtra

Occupation/Profession: Social work/ Agriculture

Political Party: BJP

Designation: Chief Minister of Maharashtra

Devendra Fadnavis Wife: Amruta Fadnavis

Devendra Fadnavis Children: Divija ( Daughter)

Caste & Religion: Brahmin, Hindu

Devendra Fadnavis Biography - Early Life | Education | Family | Political Career

Devendra Fadnavis Early Life

Devendra Fadnavis had a very active student life. Whether he was inclined to politics can be gauged by an incident in his life which may also be called a stepping stone of his future political life. It is said that he used to study in Nagpur in a school called Indira Convent.

His father was imprisoned during Emergency which was imposed by then PM Indira Gandhi. Kid Devendra found himself at odds with this situation that he had to study in a school named on the same person whose government had imprisoned his father. He was therefore later shifted to Saraswati Vidyalaya in Nagpur. He later became an active member of ABVP an affiliate of RSS.

Devendra Fadnavis Political Career

Fadnavis began his political journey at a young age in 1992 when he was elected as a Councilor in the Nagpur Municipal Corporation, serving two consecutive terms. Notably, he became the second youngest Mayor in India and also holds the distinction of being the youngest Mayor of Nagpur. Additionally, he is the only individual to have been reelected to the position of ‘Mayor in Council’ and served as Nagpur's Mayor twice.

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Later, he was elected to the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly (MLA) for five consecutive terms. He became the Chief Minister of one of the country’s most advanced states, Maharashtra, at the age of 44, making him the second youngest CM of the state after Sharad Pawar.

After the 2019 elections, when Shiv Sena, then led by Uddhav Thackeray, backed out of the alliance, he took the oath as CM for the second time in a hush-hush move, along with Ajit Pawar, who had ditched his uncle Sharad Pawar for the first time to take the oath as Deputy CM. This was hailed as a masterstroke by the BJP.

However, this tenure was short-lived and lasted only about 80 hours. Following this, Uddhav Thackeray was sworn in as the CM of the state.

In 2022, Maharashtra politics witnessed a huge surprise when trusted Shiv Sena leader, since the time of Balasaheb Thackeray, Eknath Shinde, rebelled against Uddhav Thackeray. This triggered a political crisis, leading to the fall of the Uddhav-led MVA government, as a large number of MLAs joined Eknath Shinde's faction.

Meanwhile, another rebellion erupted within the Sharad Pawar-led NCP, as his nephew Ajit Pawar once again rebelled and joined hands with the BJP. This led to the formation of the Mahayuti government, led by Eknath Shinde, with Devendra Fadnavis agreeing to become Shinde’s Deputy CM, alongside Ajit Pawar.

Despite serving as Deputy CM, former CM Fadnavis did not let any political ego stand in the way of his success. In November 2024, he led the BJP to a historic mandate.

Devendra Fadnavis Net Worth

In his financial details disclosed in the affidavit while filing nomination papers for the Nagpur Southwest seat inform that his total movable and immovable assets are valued at Rs 13,27,47,728. Additionally, his tax returns show that his reported income for the fiscal year 2023-24 was Rs 79,30,402, compared to Rs 92,48,094 in 2022-23.

In the affidavit, Fadnavis outlined his movable assets, including Rs 56,07,867 in his name, Rs 6,96,92,748 in the name of his wife, Amruta Fadnavis, and Rs 10,22,113 in his daughter’s name. Furthermore, he revealed he had Rs 23,500 in cash, while his wife had Rs 10,000 in cash.

Regarding bank deposits, Fadnavis reported a total of Rs 2,28,760, which includes deposits in financial institutions, NBFCs, and cooperative societies. His wife’s bank deposits were reported at Rs 1,43,717.

Fadnavis also informed that he has not invested in bonds, debentures, shares, or mutual funds, but he has made significant investments totaling Rs 20,70,607 in National Savings Schemes (NSS), postal savings, insurance policies, and other financial instruments.

Devendra Fadnavis Controversy

Devendra Fadnavis Cases

A criminal writ petition was filed against him in Nagpur bench of Bombay High Court. In this it was alleged that he had used his official position to favor his wife, who worked at AXIS Bank, by directing the opening of bank accounts for government employees in AXIS Bank.

Devendra Fadnavis Political controversies

In June 2023, a controversy erupted in Maharashtra over posters of Aurangzeb on social media. The controversy escalated further Devendra Fadnavis, stated, " Maharashtra ke kuch zilon me aurangzeb ki auladen paida huee hain” (In some districts of Maharashtra, the descendants of Aurangzeb have been born).

They display his photos, keep them, and post them as their status. This is causing malice and tension in society. Suddenly, where have so many descendants of Aurangzeb come from? We will find out who the real owner of this is." This led to political row in the state with many political leaders & people labelling Fadnavis's statement as communal and aimed at targeting a particular community.

Before that in 2016, he stirred the pot with his statement that those who do not chant Bharat Mata ki Jai should go to Pakistan. Visit: Our Latest Blogs