Maharashtra: A day ahead of the final test in Maharashtra Assembly, Eknath Shinde’s team scored a big win on Sunday, getting alliance partner’s legislator elected as the Speaker. BJP Legislator Rahul Narvekar is all set to be the new speaker of Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha as he bagged a total of 164 votes. Opposition team lead by Uddhav Thackeray got only 107 votes in this race.
Deputy Speaker Narhari Zirwal was in charge as the acting Speaker since February 2021 when Congress Legislator Nana Patole resigned from the post. The Speaker Election was crucial in view of the recent turn of events in Maharashtra Politics where Eknath Shinde headed camp of 50 MLAs turned rebellions to their own Shiv Sena party.
The Speaker owns the power to dismiss the disqualification proceedings against certain rebel MLAs of Shiv Sena who were served disqualification notices by the acting Speaker last month. Eknath Shinde is currently confident that he has two- third majority and is the Sena’s Legislature Party Leader.
Meanwhile, former CM Uddhav Thackeray on Friday removed Shinde as the party leader owing to his ‘anti- party’ activities on which Shinde’s supporters commented that they are the ‘real’ Shiv Sena now. The Supreme Court earlier had allowed 16 rebel MLAs who were served disqualification notice to file their responses latest by July 12.