<P> Bajirao would often accompany his father on military campaigns . He was with his father when the latter was imprisoned by Damaji Thorat before being released for a ransom . When Vishwanath died in 1720, Shahu appointed the 20 - year old Baji Rao as the Peshwa . He is said to have preached the ideal of Hindu Pad Padshahi (Hindu Empire), </P> <P> Bajirao intended to plant the Maratha flag upon the walls of Delhi and other cities governed by the Mughals and their subjects . He intended to replace the Mughal Empire and create a Hindu - Pat - Padshahi . </P> <P> Bajirao succeeded his father as Peshwa of the Maratha Empire.By the time Baji Rao became the Peshwa, Chhatrapati Shahu was the ruler of Maratha Emperor . The Maratha confederacy was run in his name, but the real power lay in the hands of the Peshwa . By the time of Baji Rao's appointment, Mughal emperor Muhammad Shah had recognized Marathas' rights over the territories possessed by Shivaji at his death . In 1719, the Mughals had also recognized the Maratha rights to collect taxes (chauth or chauthaii and sardeshmukhi) in the six provinces of Deccan . Bajirao believed that the Mughal Empire was in decline and wanted to take advantage of this situation with aggressive expansion in north India . Sensing the declining fortune of the Mughals, he is reported to have said, "Strike, strike at the trunk and the branches will fall off themselves ." However, as a new Peshwa, he faced several challenges: </P> <Ul> <Li> His appointment as the Peshwa at a young age had evoked jealousy from senior officials like Naro Ram Mantri, Anant Ram Sumant and Shripatrao Pant Pratinidhi . This led Bajirao to promote young commanders such as Malhar Rao Holkar, Ranoji Shinde, and the Pawar brothers who were not from the families that held hereditary Deshmukhi rights under the Deccan Sultanates . </Li> <Li> Nizam - ul - Mulk Asaf Jah I, the Mughal viceroy of Deccan, had practically created his own independent kingdom in the region and challenged the Maratha rights to collect taxes in Deccan . </Li> <Li> The Marathas needed to assert their rights over the nobles of the newly gained territories in Malwa and Gujarat </Li> <Li> Several areas that were nominally part of the Maratha territory, were not actually under Peshwa's control . For example, the Siddis controlled the Janjira fort . </Li> </Ul>

Who was the king at the time of bajirao