Officials barred from leaves amid drought-like situation in parts of Maharashtra
The move is aimed at ensuring the smooth implementation of relief measures, with officials told to give top priority to drought-related work.
Devendra Gangadharrao Fadnavis is an Indian politician and a member of Bhartiya Janata Party. He served as the 18th Chief Minister of Maharashtra from 2014 to 2019 and became the second-youngest CM of the state at the age of 44. He was appointed as the Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly in 2019.
Fadnavis was born to Gangadharrao and Sarita Fadnavis on July 22, 1970. A graduate in law, he moved to Germany in 1998 to complete his post-graduation in Business Management and Diploma in Projects Management from Dahlem School of Education. He married Amruta Fadnavis in 2006 and the couple has a daughter.
His official Twitter handle is @Dev_Fadnavis and the name of his official Facebook page is Devendra Fadnavis. He is also active on Instagram, under the username devendra_fadnavis.
He started his political career at a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh(RSS) and joined Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) in the 1990s. He won his first municipal election from Nagpur's Ram Nagar Ward and was elected as the youngest Corporator at the age of 22 in 1992. In 1997, he became the youngest Mayor of the Nagpur Municipal Corporation and the second youngest Mayor in India. Since 1999, he served as the Member of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly for three consecutive terms till 2004.
Fadnavis was appointed as Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) National Vice-President in 2001. He served as the General Secretary of BJP's Maharashtra unit in 2010 and became the President of the state unit in 2013. In 2019, he was re-elected from Nagpur South West assembly seat. He resigned from the post of the chief minister, three days after taking oath after his alliance with NCP leader Ajit Pawar failed to prove a majority in the Assembly.
The move is aimed at ensuring the smooth implementation of relief measures, with officials told to give top priority to drought-related work.
More than half the state is in severe drought, the most since mid-September 2021. The state's first drought notice is due by Saturday.
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