Maharashtra in 2024: Maha Yuti's return, gory murder of sarpanch and Parbhani violence

Mumbai: The return of BJP-led Maha Yuti alliance to power, the brutal murder of a sarpanch in Beed district and the death of a Dalit in judicial custody after violence in Parbhani district were among the key happenings in Maharashtra in 2024.

BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis, 54, took oath as the Chief Minister for the third time after the Mahayuti combine, comprising the BJP, Shiv Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) won an impressive 230 of the 288 seats in the November 20 assembly elections.

The thumping victory came just six months after the Maha Yuti got 17 of the 48 Lok Sabha seats in the state, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi, comprising Congress, NCP (SP) and Shiv Sena (UBT) pocketed 30 seats.

The massive mandate for Maha Yuti in the assembly elections was attributed to populist schemes like Ladki Bahin Yojana, under which eligible women get Rs 1,500 per month directly deposited into their Aadhaar-linked bank accounts.

Though the Maha Yuti secured a thumping victory, the swearing in of the new cabinet was delayed, apparently due to outgoing CM Eknath Shinde’s insistence on continuing in the post as the massive mandate was under his leadership.

The swearing-in ceremony was held in Mumbai on December 5 in the presence of Prime Minister Modi. Fadnavis was sworn in as the CM, while Shinde and NCP leader Ajit Pawar took oath as deputy CMs.

As many as 39 ministers, including six ministers of state, were sworn in at Nagpur on December 15, a day before the start of the winter session of state legislature.

The portfolios were allocated to all ministers on December 21, the last day of the session. Fadnavis retained the home department, while Shinde and Ajit Pawar got urban development department and finance department respectively.

The ministry expansion was followed by discontent in the Mahayuti combine with senior leaders from the ruling alliance openly expressing their displeasure over being denied ministerial berths.

Senior NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal and BJP's Sudhir Mungantiwar voiced their displeasure over being ignored.

The Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) drew a blank in the assembly polls. His son Amit Thackeray lost from Mahim assembly seat in Mumbai.

The assembly election was also a flop for the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi led by Prakash Ambedkar as it failed to win even a single seat.

The assembly polls also saw some major upsets. Former CM Prithviraj Chavan lost from Karad South while Congress veteran Balasaheb Thorat lost from Sangamner. State Congress chief Nana Patole scraped through by a margin of just over 200 votes from Sakoli in Vidarbha.

The brutal murder of Santosh Deshmukh, a sarpanch of Massajog village in Beed district on December 9, escalated into a political storm in the state.

A BJP MLA from the district claimed in the state assembly that Deshmukh was tortured, his eyes were burnt and he was beaten up brutally with iron rods which led to his death.

While the Opposition slammed the Fadnavis-led government’s “failure to maintain law and order” in Beed, leaders of the ruling combine also demanded action against the culprits during the assembly session in Nagpur.

Fadnavis announced a judicial probe in the case and the transfer of Beed district superintendent of police over the law and order situation in the district.

Fadnavis informed the assembly that NCP minister Dhananjay Munde’s close aide Walmik Karad has been booked for extortion of Rs 2 crore under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crimes Act and will also be booked in Deshmukh’s murder if his link in killing is established.

Parbhani town in Marathwada region witnessed violence after a glass-enclosed replica of the Constitution near Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar's statue outside the railway station was damaged on December 10.

Fadnavis later said a mentally unstable person had desecrated the replica of the Constitution.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi met the family of Somnath Suryavanshi, 35, who died in judicial custody after being arrested for the violence. “This is a custodial death. Police have killed him. He was murdered because he was a Dalit," Gandhi said.

In June, at least seven Congress MLAs defied party directives while voting in elections for 11 seats in Maharashtra Legislative Council. The Mahayuti alliance won all the 9 seats it contested.

As the year drew to a close, estranged cousins Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray met at two family weddings in Mumbai in December, sparking speculation about a possible political alliance.

The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) recorded one of the worst ever performances in the recent assembly elections, winning just 20 of the 288 seats, while the MNS could not win even a single seat.

In October, the Union cabinet accorded the classical language status to Marathi. The decision was hailed as a testament to the rich cultural heritage and literary tradition associated with Marathi.

The declaration came after a consistent push from the state government and Marathi-speaking communities across the country.

Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange announced in December that he will begin an indefinite fast from January 25 in Jalna district, demanding reservation in jobs and education under the OBC category for the Maratha community. He said it will be a “collective hunger strike” and appealed people to join him in his native Antarwali Sarati village.

At an election rally in November, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that the government will soon begin work on a new airport near the ambitious Rs 76,220 crore Vadhavan Port project in Maharashtra’s Palghar district.