Lagatar24 Desk
Mumbai, July 3: BJP MLA Rahul Narvekar was elected as the Speaker of the Maharashtra Assembly, taking the position days after Eknath Shinde assumed the role of the chief minister and the BJP regained control in the state.
Following the start of the House’s business at 11 am, the election was held. 164 people voted for Narvekar in the Assembly.
He ran against Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress candidate Rajan Salvi, a Sena MLA and supporter of Uddhav Thackeray, for the position of Speaker. Other MLAs in the state Assembly who cast their ballots were Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
#WATCH | BJP MLA Rahul Narwekar takes charge as the Speaker of Maharashtra Assembly amid chants of "Jai Bhavani, Jai Shivaji", "Jai Sri Ram", "Bharat Mata ki Jai" and "Vande Mataram".
(Source: Maharashtra Assembly) pic.twitter.com/oQ1qn2wdcp
— ANI (@ANI) July 3, 2022
The Samajwadi Party (SP) did not, however, cast a ballot against BJP nominee Narvekar. During the head count, both of its MLAs, Abu Azmi and Raees Shaikh, remained seated. AIMIM MLAs also chose not to cast a ballot.
The Deputy Speaker said that Shiv Sena MLAs had cast no votes for the whip after the vote. The entire process has been captured on video. It is necessary to record the names of individuals who voted against the party whip.
Since Nana Patole of Congress resigned in February of last year, the position of Speaker has been empty.
