Despite reports that Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis was firm on his decision to resign, Home Minister Amit Shah has urged him to remain in office and continue his duties. Fadnavis, who previously served as the state's Chief Minister, is currently part of the Maharashtra government alongside the Eknath Shinde faction of the Shiv Sena and the Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).

In the recent elections, the new coalition known as the Mahayuti secured only 17 of the state's 48 seats, a significant drop from the 41 seats won by the undivided Shiv Sena and BJP in 2019. Meanwhile, the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance, which includes the Congress, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), and NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar), achieved victory in 30 constituencies.

Following the disappointing results, Fadnavis offered his resignation on Wednesday, the day after the vote count. Multiple BJP leaders, including Amit Shah, have since spoken to him. During a meeting with Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, the coalition's performance and Fadnavis' resignation were discussed.

Fadnavis later met with Shah, who advised him against resigning to avoid demoralizing BJP workers. Shah requested Fadnavis to continue his work in the Maharashtra government and to devise a plan to strengthen the BJP in the state ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections expected in October.

"If you resign, it will affect the morale of BJP workers. So don't resign now," Shah reportedly told Fadnavis. Shah added that they would discuss the resignation in detail after Narendra Modi's swearing-in ceremony as Prime Minister for the third time, scheduled for 6 PM on Sunday.

The INDIA alliance's strong performance in Maharashtra, which is a significant contributor of MPs to the Lok Sabha, was a factor in the BJP's reduced tally of 240 seats from 303 in 2019. Nonetheless, the NDA won 293 Lok Sabha seats, surpassing the majority mark of 272.