Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has achieved a significant political milestone by becoming the third longest-serving Chief Minister in the state's history, surpassing the cumulative tenure of Nationalist Congress Party (SP) president Sharad Pawar.
As of July 12, 2026, Fadnavis has completed a combined tenure of around 6 years and 7 months across his three terms as Chief Minister, totalling 2,430 days. With this, he has overtaken Sharad Pawar, who served as Maharashtra Chief Minister for approximately 6 years and 221 days, or 2,412 days, across four separate terms.
Although Pawar occupied the Chief Minister's office on four occasions, he did not complete a full five-year term during any of those tenures. Fadnavis, on the other hand, has taken oath as Chief Minister three times, completing a full five-year term during his first stint from 2014 to 2019. His second tenure lasted only six days, while his third and current term has completed 585 days as of July 12 and continues to add to his overall record.
According to the state's historical records, Vasantrao Naik remains Maharashtra's longest-serving Chief Minister, with a tenure of 11 years and 78 days, amounting to 4,096 days. He is followed by Vilasrao Deshmukh, who served for about 7 years and 129 days, or 2,686 days.
Fadnavis now holds the third position on the list, with his current tenure still ongoing. Born on July 22, 1970, into a middle-class family in Nagpur, Fadnavis holds a law degree, a postgraduate qualification in business management and a diploma in project management.
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He entered public life in 1992 after being elected as a councillor in the Nagpur Municipal Corporation, where he served two consecutive terms. Since then, he has gone on to win five consecutive Assembly elections as an MLA. Fadnavis first served as Maharashtra Chief Minister between 2014 and 2019, becoming the state's second-youngest Chief Minister after Sharad Pawar.
Besides leading the government, he has handled several important portfolios, including Home, General Administration, Information Technology, Urban Development, Law and Judiciary, Ports, and Information and Public Relations. During his tenure, he oversaw several major initiatives and infrastructure projects, including Mumbai Next, the Police Digitisation Project, the Samruddhi Expressway and the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Krishi Sanman Scheme.
Fadnavis also briefly served as Chief Minister for five days during the 2019 political crisis in Maharashtra. The episode followed the Shiv Sena's decision under Uddhav Thackeray to break its long-standing alliance with the BJP and form a government with the Congress and the then-undivided Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).
The 2024 Maharashtra Assembly elections marked a decisive victory for the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance, which secured 235 seats. The BJP emerged as the single largest party, winning 132 Assembly constituencies.
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