Devendra Fadnavis was on Thursday set to return as chief minister of Maharashtra, steering the BJP to another electoral win and dealing the NCP-Congress a blow but the victory gong sounded just a little hollow.
It was a day of records for the 49-year-old Nagpur-born BJP leader with close family links to the RSS. He is now the first non-Congress chief minister to win a second term in office in the state, seen as a Congress bastion until just five years ago, and only the second chief minister to complete his term in office.
The BJP, which contested 164 seats, hovered at the 100 mark while the Shiv Sena was ahead in 57, the leads taking the alliance past the magic number needed to come to power in the 288-strong assembly but leaving India’s ruling party to deal with its often tetchy partner declaring it would stick to its pre-decided 50-50 power sharing formula.