Maharashtra CM Ditches State Jet, Takes IndiGo Flight Amid Fuel Cut Push

As

fuel conservation becomes the new political talking point amid global energy uncertainty and rising tensions in West Asia, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis appears to be taking the message beyond speeches and government circulars. A day after ditching hisofficial convoy to ride a motorcycle to Vidhan Bhavan, Fadnavis on Friday boarded a regular IndiGo commercial flight from Pune to Bengaluru instead of using a government aircraft.

The move comes in the backdrop of Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging citizens, ministers and officials to reduce fuel usage, use public transport more frequently and adopt austerity measures amid concerns over volatile global oil markets. Maharashtra has since emerged as one of the first states to aggressively operationalise that message through administrative directives and public optics. According to inputs from the Chief Minister’s Office, Fadnavis travelled alongside regular passengers on an IndiGo flight while heading to Bengaluru for an official programme. The decision follows Thursday’s widely discussed moment where the CM rode a motorcycle to Vidhan Bhavan instead of using his usual high-security convoy. Notably, the Maharashtra government has rolled out a broader fuel-saving SOP that includes halving ministerial convoys, discouraging foreign tours, restricting non-essential use of government aircraft and helicopters, encouraging virtual meetings, and asking senior officials to use public transport at least once a week. The state administration is also nudging departments toward electric vehicles and carpooling while simultaneously reviewing the scale of VIP security movements. Even Raj Bhavan has reportedly initiated a reassessment of convoy deployment in line with energy conservation efforts. The political messaging is hard to miss. In recent days, BJP leaders across several states have visibly scaled down convoys, skipped charter travel and embraced metro or commercial transport after criticism over extravagant VIP movement during a period when the Centre is calling for restraint.