‘Ek hai toh safe hai, Modi hai toh…’: Devendra Fadnavis’ first reaction as NDA takes commanding lead in Maharashtra

When your party is winning the elections, who cares about a controversy? Despite the row surrounding the “Ek hain toh safe hain” slogan by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis – the man of the moment – reiterated it as the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) took a commanding lead in the Maharashtra Election Results 2024.

In his first reaction after Mahayuti alliance – the BJP, Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar-led NCP – secured over 200 seats in the 288-member Maharashtra Assembly, Devendra Fadnavis said, “Ek hai toh safe hai, Modi hai toh mumkin hai.” Fadnavis leading by over 17,604 votes in Nagpur South West

The NDA or the Mahayuti alliance is currently leading on 226 seats, while the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition – the Congress, Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena, Sharad Pawar's NCP – have gained leads on just 54 seats in Maharashtra Election Results 2024. The current Election Commission (EC) tally stands as follow:

MAHAYUTI
BJP: 126
Eknath Shinde-Shiv Sena: 55
Ajit Pawar-NCP: 39

MAHA VIKAS AGHADI
Congress: 21
Uddhav Thackeray-Shiv Sena: 18
Sharad Pawar-NCP: 12

As trends show that Mahayuti is set to repeat the government in Maharashtra, the clamour to have Devendra Fadnavis as the next chief minister has only grown. When asked about the next Maharashtra chief minister, BJP leader Pravin Darekar said, “The CM will be from Mahayuti and, obviously, the largest party has the greater chance and with BJP emerging the largest party, if there is a CM of BJP, it will be Devendra Fadnavis.”

Now, Devendra Fadnavis' mother Sarita Fadnavis said that his son has worked hard and without any doubt, he will become the chief minister. Speaking to ANI, Sarita Fadnavis said, “Of course, he will become the CM. It is a big day as my son has become a big leader in the state. He was working hard at all 24 hours.”