Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis recently had a marathon interaction with the media over lunch at his official residence.

Besides Fadnavis himself, his media adviser Ketan Pathak and BJP's media cell head Keshav Upadhye specifically called it an off-the-record discussion.

It was expected that no scribe would quote Fadavis but still use the information.

No scribe kept that in mind.The next day, almost all the newspapers quoted Fadnavis verbatim.The discussion centred on whether Fadnavis was shifting to New Delhi and if he would contest the LS elections from Pune or Nagpur.

Speculation has been rife that since Fadnavis has been in state politics for so long, it is high time he shifted to national politics after the LS polls.

There were reports suggesting that Fadnavis would contest the LS polls from Pune or Nagpur, which is currently represented by Union minister Nitin Gadkari.

After the death of Pune MP Girish Bapat, there were reports suggesting that in the event of a by-election, Fadnavis would be named the BJP nominee.

However, the ECI never declared a by-election.Fadnavis was asked about his plans for the LS and for the next 10 years, and the possibility of a cabinet expansion.

Known for giving straight answers, Fadnavis made it clear that he has absolutely no plan to contest the LS polls either from Pune or Nagpur and that he will contest the assembly polls from his traditional Nagpur South West seat.

A veteran editor asked how Fadnavis's statement could be considered off the record when he made it before 150-odd scribes.3 mths - no guv secy yetGovernor Ramesh Bais has been without a regular secretary for nearly three months, since veteran bureaucrat Santosh Kumar was shifted out.

It's for the first time in Raj Bhavan's recent history that the post of secretary to the governor has been vacant for so long.

A 1994 batch IAS officer, Kumar, who was MD of Maharashtra Small Scale Industries Development Corporation, was appointed secretary to the then governor, Bhagat Singh Koshyari, on September 30, 2019.

A few months after Bais took over the reins of Raj Bhavan in February 2023, Kumar was relieved from his post.

Significantly, while Raj Bhavan has been without a full-time secretary, Kumar, too, has been waiting for his new assignment.

He is not alone.

There are several bureaucrats who have been kept on a waitlist or have been shifted frequently before the end of their tenure.