From Corporator to Chief Minister: How Late Manohar Joshi Resigned from the Post of CM on Bal Thackeray's Orders

Former Maharashtra Chief Minister Manohar Joshi passed away in the early hours of Friday. He breathed his last at 3.02 am on February 23, 2024, at Hinduja Hospital. He was admitted to the Hospital on February 21 after he complained of uneasiness. He was diagnosed with a heart attack and was being treated in the intensive care unit. His death has left the Shiv Sena family in a state of shock. Though the Shiv Sena is divided into two factions today, Joshi's position among every Shiv Sainik has remained intact. Manohar Joshi had a great career in Maharashtra politics. He served as a councillor, chief minister and Lok Sabha speaker. 

When the Mahayuti government came to power in the state in 1995, the late leader and Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray decided to make Shiv Sainik the Chief Minister instead of being the Chief Minister himself despite having an opportunity. At the time,   Manohar Joshi and Sudhir Joshi were the names in the competition. At last, Balasaheb confirmed the name of Manohar Joshi and he became the first Chief Minister of Shiv Sena.  

Manohar Joshi, who was employed as a clerk in the Mumbai Municipal Corporation, resigned from his job and joined politics. Manohar Joshi joined the Shiv Sena in 1967 and became an active participant in politics due to the cause of social work and the influence of Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray. Later, his political journey from councillor to chief minister in the municipal corporation unfolded. Interestingly, he was also the Speaker of the Lok Sabha from 1999 to 2002. Meanwhile, after four years as chief minister in the Grand Alliance, he resigned as chief minister only on the orders of Balasaheb Thackeray.

After Manohar Joshi resigned, Bal Thackeray gave Narayan Rane the opportunity to become the Chief Minister. In his book 'No Holds Barred, Rane has described the period before Manohar Joshi's resignation. Rane wrote that he realised that Manohar Joshi was considering himself a separate power centre. "During 1995-1997, Saheb (Bal Thackeray) had criticised the red tape in the Joshi-led government. In the 1998 Lok Sabha elections, when the alliance's seats were reduced from 33 to 10, he felt that Joshiji needed to be removed from office for the survival of the coalition government," Rane said in the book. 

In the book, Rane adds, "One night Bal Thackeray called us to Matoshree. Uddhavji was also present there. Then Saheb clearly said, if Joshi is removed and you become the chief minister, will you run the government?

I said, 'Sir, I won't only run the government, I will take it to new heights"

The next day, Saheb asked the same question. Then I said to him, 'Why do you always talk about taking me in Joshiji's place but never take the final decision?' Balasaheb then called his secretary Ashish Kulkarni and narrated the contents of the letter," Rane said in his book. 

"Wherever you are now, please stop everything and immediately submit your resignation to the Honourable Governor of Maharashtra. Please come see me later. Please make sure you resign before you come to see me," the letter read. 

Meanwhile, Manohar Joshi resigned from the post of Chief Minister as soon as he received the letter of Balasaheb's order. 

Joshi's Remarks on Resignation

Meanwhile, Manohar Joshi had mentioned his resignation while speaking at a Loksatta event. At that time, he had said that he had resigned due to a misunderstanding, but Balasaheb loved him very much. "In 1999, I lost the chief minister's post due to one such misunderstanding. Narayan Rane became the Chief Minister in my place. Whoever gives the position has the right to remove it. Balasaheb did not ask me why he did it when he made me the chief minister. So when he ordered me to resign, I resigned immediately. In 1995, both Sudhir Joshi and I met Balasaheb to get the chief minister's post. Saheb preferred me. Do you ask your girlfriend, why you love me? Balasaheb loved me very much, that is why I got all the posts in the Shiv Sena. Uddhav also loves me. However, there may be differences in the way father and son are loved as well as communication gaps. That's why I was able to forgive everything even after the Dussehra rally was affected by misunderstandings," Joshi had said.