Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday, 23 July 2026, publicly attributed the state's largest Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) scam to the tenure of his predecessor, Uddhav Thackeray, posting the claim in both Marathi and Hindi on his official X account from Mumbai.

Context

In his post, Fadnavis stated — 'राज्यातील सर्वात मोठा टीईटी घोटाळा उद्धव ठाकरे यांच्या मुख्यमंत्रीपदाच्या कार्यकाळात झाला' — ('The biggest TET scam in the state took place during Uddhav Thackeray's tenure as Chief Minister'). The assertion was made in both Marathi and Hindi, signalling an intent to reach a broad audience across Maharashtra. The post was tagged with #Maharashtra and #Mumbai, anchoring it in the ongoing political discourse around governance accountability in the state.

Uddhav Thackeray served as Chief Minister of Maharashtra from November 2019 to June 2022 as the head of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition government, which comprised his Shiv Sena faction, the Congress, and the Nationalist Congress Party. The government collapsed following a split within Shiv Sena led by Eknath Shinde, after which Fadnavis and the BJP-led alliance returned to power.

Policy Backdrop

The Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) is a mandatory qualifying examination for individuals seeking employment as school teachers, conducted at both the central and state levels across India. In Maharashtra, the state TET has periodically been at the centre of allegations involving question-paper leaks, impersonation, and irregularities in the evaluation process. Such examinations directly affect hundreds of thousands of aspiring teachers who invest years preparing for government recruitment.

Across several Indian states, TET-related controversies have emerged as a recurring flashpoint in political debates over transparency in public recruitment. In Maharashtra, the issue carries particular weight given the large number of candidates who appear for the examination each cycle and the high stakes attached to government teaching positions.

Stakeholders and Impact

The most directly affected group is aspiring teachers in Maharashtra who appeared for TET examinations during the period in question. Any irregularity in the process has implications for candidates who may have been unfairly denied eligibility certificates, as well as for students in schools where recruitment was distorted by fraudulent means.

Politically, the statement sharpens the contestation between the ruling BJP-led Mahayuti alliance and the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) faction, which has been a principal opposition voice in the state since the 2022 government change. Accountability narratives around previous administrations have been a consistent feature of Fadnavis's political communication since returning to office.

What's Next

The statement is likely to prompt a response from the Uddhav Thackeray camp, which has consistently denied governance failures during its tenure and framed the 2022 split as an unconstitutional coup. Observers will watch whether the Maharashtra education department orders a formal inquiry into past TET processes or whether investigative agencies are directed to examine the alleged irregularities.

If an official probe is announced, it would mark a significant escalation from political allegation to institutional action — with consequences for both the credibility of past recruitment cycles and the careers of candidates whose eligibility was determined during that period.