BJP's Rahul Narvekar elected Maharashtra Speaker

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 3

Rahul Narvekar of the BJP was elected Speaker of the Maharashtra Assembly on the first day of its special session on Sunday. Narvekar, who polled 164 votes, defeated Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena candidate Rajan Salvi, who got 107 votes. The post was lying vacant since February last year after Nana Patole of the Congress resigned.

Floor test today

• Tight security in place for rebel Shiv Sena MLAs as they returned to Mumbai from Goa on Saturday
• Eknath Shinde-led government will face floor test on Monday

Separate whips

Amid the ongoing battle between two Shiv Sena factions led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and former CM Uddhav Thackeray, both the sides issued separate whips to the party legislators to vote in favour of their respective candidates during the state Assembly Speaker's election on Sunday

Narvekar (45) is the youngest ever Assembly Speaker in the country, said Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis. Narvekar’s father-in-law Ramraje Naik of the NCP is the Chairperson of the Maharashtra Legislative Council. The Eknath Shinde-led government will face the floor test on Monday.

The Assembly has one vacancy due to the death of Sena’s Ramesh Latke. NCP legislator Narhari Zirwal could not vote as he is the Deputy Speaker.

After the vote count, Zirwal said, “Some Shiv Sena MLAs voted against the party whip. Its recording should be verified and necessary action should be taken against them.” Of the 287 legislators, 271 voted, while three MLAs — Rais Shaikh and Abu Azmi of the Samajwadi Party, and Shah Farukh of the AIMIM — abstained from voting.

As many as 12 MLAs were absent. Two of them — Laxman Jagtap and Mukta Tilak — are suffering from serious ailments, while two NCP legislators — Anil Deshmukh and Nawab Malik — are in judicial custody.

Shiv Sena leader Aaditya Thackeray targeted the Shinde government over stringent security arrangements in place for rebel Sena MLAs as they entered the Assembly premises from a nearby hotel.

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