Overview

• Full-page newspaper ads and Mumbai hoardings featured only Devendra Fadnavis with the label “Devabhau,” depicting tributes to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and Lord Ganesh, without naming a sponsor.
• Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said there is no race for credit and called the leadership a team effort, while Shiv Sena spokesperson Krishna Hegde said there is no internal conflict over the ads.
• Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut and NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) MLA Rohit Pawar alleged massive expenditure—pegged by them at Rs 40–50 crore—and questioned the funding source, criticizing the use of Shivaji’s image.
• Rohit Pawar claimed a minister from an allied party commissioned the ads without informing Fadnavis, a contention not confirmed by the government.
• BJP state chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule dismissed the criticism as routine political advertising, as questions over funding and coalition optics linger following the recent Maratha reservation agitation.