India, Jan. 3 -- Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis found himself straddling culture and political crisis on Friday, spending a significant part of the inauguration of the 99th Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Sahitya Sammelan in Satara on his mobile phone, as barely a few hours were left for withdrawal of candidature for municipal corporation elections across the state. The nomination withdrawal deadline for 29 civic bodies, including Pune, Mumbai, Thane and Nagpur, ended at 3pm on Friday amid excess AB forms distributed by parties and a large number of rebels entering into fray.

Those present at the literary event noticed Fadnavis repeatedly engaged in back-to-back phone calls while seated on the dais, prompting speculation about urge...