Devendra Fadnavis

Devendra Fadnavis is the Bharatiya Janata Party Chief Minister of Maharashtra. He appears in this record because his state includes Nanded, where Takht Sri Hazur Sahib stands, and because the Damdami Taksal has drawn close to his government.

According to Wikipedia he was born on 22 July 1970 in Nagpur, was Mayor of Nagpur from 1997 to 1999, has sat in the Maharashtra Assembly since 1999 and was president of the state BJP from 2013 to 2015. He has been Chief Minister three times: from 31 October 2014 to 12 November 2019, for a few days in November 2019, and again since 5 December 2024. He was Deputy Chief Minister from June 2022 to November 2024.

Key moments

• 2024: The Tribune reports that the Damdami Taksal backed the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance in the Maharashtra Assembly election.
• May 2026: the Taksal took part in a Maharashtra government event for the 350th Shaheedi anniversary of Guru Tegh Bahadur, attended by Union Home Minister Amit Shah (The Tribune).
• 6 June 2026: the Maharashtra BJP minister Girish Mahajan spoke at the Taksal's gathering at Mehta Chowk. A BJP spokesperson, Prof Sarchand Singh, said Mahajan "represented the Maharashtra Chief Minister at the event" and called the visit a reciprocal gesture. The Tribune says it does not itself state who invited Mahajan.
• 24 June 2026: the Maharashtra cabinet, chaired by Fadnavis, approved a proposal to repeal the 1956 Nanded Sikh Gurdwara Sachkhand Sri Hazur Abchalnagar Sahib Act and replace it with a new law. The Takht's caretakers rejected it by gurmata, and Takht Jathedar Giani Kulwant Singh and others said it could allow direct government intervention.
• 25 June 2026: BJP leader RP Singh met Fadnavis, who agreed to a committee to consult Sikh stakeholders and scholars. On 30 June the government put the draft on hold and named a committee of senior revenue officials and the Nanded Collector. Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule said the government's objective was not to take over the gurdwara.

Why he features here. For the Panth the questions are the Takht's autonomy at Nanded and the Taksal's alignment with the BJP. The reports reviewed do not quote Fadnavis on either; the Hazur Sahib pause was a decision of his government and the revised draft was still to come.