A strong opponent of the BJP government both at the federal level and in several states, stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra has publicly challenged Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. This comes after Fadnavis recently referred to Kamra as "worthless" during an event and said that he ought to be "politically ignored." CM Fadnavis at an event organised by The Indian Express said, “I think it would be wiser to ignore such people politically. If you react, you just serve to increase their status. Inki Aukat Nahi Hai (They are not worth it). They don't need to be given that much importance. We can be emotional at times, particularly among our party and our ally Shiv Sena. We're not practical politicians. Reactions are frequently the result of our emotions. As a result of these responses, Kunal Kamra became a more prominent figure. Otherwise, not even four people would pay attention to him.”
Responding to these remarks of CM Fadnavis, Kunal Kamra posted on X, “Hello @Dev_Fadnavis you’re right, Politically it’s better to ignore me. I have no Aukad & only 4 people watch my show. Please can I be ignored? October I was planning shows in Thane - New Mumbai - Mumbai - Pune - Nasik - Nagpur - Aurangabad. Please coordinate with Mr Shinde & his Sena if I can be ignored.”
He made these remarks months after Shiv Sena workers vandalised Habitat Studio on March 24 in response to the show Kamra performed there. In his show, Naya Bharat, he allegedly called Maharashtra Deputy CM Eknath Shinde a gaddar and made defamatory statements against him. The parody was interpreted as a reference to the Shinde uprising in 2022, which caused the Shiv Sena to divide and the government led by Uddhav Thackeray to dissolve.