His political clout may have increased manifold, but not his physical weight. In fact, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis even cut that extra flab by 21 kilograms and is quite happy about that.
Fadnavis, who celebrated his 46th birthday on Friday, himself revealed the secret to reporters as he met them after the state legislative assembly adjourned for the day. It's diet, diet and just diet, he said.
His wife Amruta told dna that the birthday boy didn't even get a piece of cake. Just a small piece of dark chocolate in the name of sweet was what Fadnavis got to savour while the guests at his residence were presented with gulab jamuns. And there were plenty of them, including MLAs, who made a beeline outside his chamber at Vidhan Bhavan.
Also to get chocolates from the CM were students of Sunrise English School and Sandesh Vidyalaya, Vikhroli. Fadnavis also had a bit of advice for them: begin your day by touching the feet of parents and taking their blessings.
For the last several months, Fadnavis has completely given up on chapatti, rice and sweets, eating only boiled vegetables and controlling his calorie intake in a very stringent manner. Even his birthday was no exception – all that he got for lunch was paneer, veg tikki and mixed veg soup, while for the dinner he was served white pumpkin tikki with mixed vegetable.
What made the day sweeter for the CM then?
"Divija (daughter) gave him two greeting cards – one wishing him on his birthday and the other telling him how he is the best father in the world. Aai (Fadnavis' mother Sarita) offered him prosperity with a symbolic gift of Rs 1,000 note," revealed Fadnavis' wife Amruta.
From being a model for a friend during his Nagpur years, to ballooning up over a hundred kilograms, Fadnavis has faced severe weight issues. As he rose meteorically from being the mayor of Nagpur to a vocal, studious opposition MLA and then the chief minister, Fadnavis lost all the spare time that he used to have in his routine. Late night meetings, dinners and sweet tooth, along with complete lack of exercise, led to severe weight gain.
Last year, as the government completed one year, Fadnavis followed a regimen called German Diet and managed to lose 8 kgs. But clearly that wasn't enough as he went on a stricter calorie-controlled diet that helped him shed lot more kilos. He still rues he cannot exercise, which could have helped him shed much more.
