Unlike many leaders across the political spectrum in Maharashtra, Fadnavis has remained untainted by accusations of corruption.
Clearly one of the most articulate of top Maharashtra politicians, Fadnavis is also credited with pushing the previous Congress-NCP government into a corner over the alleged irrigation scam, which many allege is primarily responsible for the spate of suicide by farmers in the parched Vidarbha region.
The Vidarbha cause was so close to his heart that during a debate on a separate state he once angrily told "chalte waha (get out of Vidarbha)" to Shiv Sena MLAs, then an ally of BJP.
Shiv Sena has been consistently opposing division of Maharashtra to create Vidarbha state.
