In 2014, Devendra Fadnavis, then 44, was state BJP president. Buoyed by stunning returns in the Lok Sabha polls, the BJP had severed ties with the Shiv Sena for the Maharashtra Assembly elections, and promptly got into campaign mode to get a majority needed in the lower house for forming a government on its own. Despite the Modi wave, a majority mark (144) in 288-member house eluded the BJP. Fadnavis was told to lead a minority government as BJP's first CM of Maharashtra. It wasn't exactly 'a dream come true' moment for the party that was founded right here in the state.

Five monsoons later, the BJP's boy-turned-man who has cemented his position as a politician for all seasons, has a task to accomplish – a realisation that the party can get a majority on its own even while dragging the burden of frenemy Shiv Sena along in the October 21 elections. Will Fadnavis and his support engine that works from New Delhi make it possible this time? The BJP has decided to stick to a fertile agenda of nationalism and development that won it unprecedented strength in the Lok Sabha polls.