Overview

• Full-page newspaper ads showed Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis paying tribute to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and Lord Ganesh with the word “Devabhau.”
• Eknath Shinde told reporters there is no race to claim credit and said he and Fadnavis are working as a team.
• Reporters asked if the ads were meant to project Fadnavis as the architect of the Maratha reservation push, prompting Shinde’s denial.
• The sponsor of the advertisements was not disclosed, leaving the funding source unclear.
• Shinde’s remarks follow a five-day hunger strike by activist Manoj Jarange that ended after the government accepted most demands, with Fadnavis later saying a solution had been found.