Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut has claimed that Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis could be moved to a national role if Prime Minister Narendra Modi undertakes a Union Cabinet reshuffle, triggering fresh speculation over possible changes in the state’s ruling coalition.
Raut said a senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader could replace Fadnavis as chief minister if the proposed reorganisation proceeds. He suggested that significant political changes could take place in Maharashtra and at the Centre within the next one or two months.
The Rajya Sabha member made the remarks while speaking to reporters in Nagpur on Friday, ahead of the “Ram Raksha Andolan” led by Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray. Raut did not identify the BJP leader whom he believed could succeed Fadnavis or provide evidence that the party’s national leadership had decided to shift the chief minister.
There has been no official confirmation from the BJP, the Maharashtra government or the Prime Minister’s Office that Fadnavis is being considered for a Union government or party assignment. He remains chief minister, with Eknath Shinde and Sunetra Pawar serving as deputy chief ministers in the Mahayuti administration.
The comments nevertheless gained attention amid continuing speculation about organisational and ministerial changes within the BJP. Senior party and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh leaders have held discussions on restructuring the party organisation, prompting expectations that some figures could move between government and party positions.
Fadnavis, one of the BJP’s most prominent state leaders, has previously held responsibilities at the national level during election campaigns. He served as Maharashtra chief minister from 2014 to 2019 and returned to the post after the Mahayuti secured a commanding victory in the 2024 Assembly election.
His political standing has strengthened because of the coalition’s electoral performance and his role in managing relations among the BJP, the Shiv Sena led by Shinde and the Nationalist Congress Party faction that was previously headed by Ajit Pawar. Any decision to move him out of Maharashtra would therefore require the BJP to identify a successor capable of maintaining the alliance’s internal balance.
Raut’s intervention also came as Maharashtra’s political parties closely watched developments within the NCP. Meetings involving senior NCP figures and Mahayuti leaders have generated speculation about the party’s direction, leadership equations and possible attempts to reunite rival factions.
Opposition leaders have frequently used reports of internal meetings and leadership discussions to suggest that the ruling alliance is unstable. Mahayuti representatives have dismissed many such claims as politically motivated and maintained that the government has a strong legislative majority.
The Shiv Sena leader linked his prediction to the possibility of a broader Union Cabinet reshuffle rather than to any publicly announced change in Maharashtra. Cabinet reorganisation remains the prerogative of the prime minister, while the selection of a chief minister would depend on the BJP legislature party and the coalition’s political calculations.
Raut was in Nagpur for Thackeray’s campaign over allegations concerning donations associated with the Ram temple in Ayodhya. The Shiv Sena has sought an investigation into claims of financial wrongdoing and has accused the BJP of failing to protect the sanctity of donations made by devotees.
The party scheduled the Ram Raksha programme at a temple in Nagpur, the home city of Fadnavis and the headquarters of the RSS. Raut had invited Fadnavis and senior RSS functionaries to attend, describing the protest as an effort to defend religious accountability rather than a confrontation over faith.
BJP leaders rejected that characterisation and accused Thackeray’s party of using Lord Ram for political mobilisation. They argued that Shiv Sena was attempting to recover sections of the Hindutva constituency it lost after breaking with the BJP and joining hands with the Congress and the undivided NCP in 2019.
