Maharashtra Assembly speaker and Congress MLA Nana Patole
Maharashtra Assembly on Sunday elected Congress MLA Nana Patole as Speaker, who was nominated by the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi government. The four-time MLA of Maharashtra was elected unopposed after BJP candidate Kisan Kathore withdrew his nomination.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray in Vidhan Bhawan said that he is confident that Patole will give justice to everyone. He also mentioned that about Patole's background and said, "Nana Patole has also come from a farmer family."
- Congress' Patola, one of the prominent leaders in Maharashtra, had joined BJP ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.
- He was also the leader of the opposition in Maharashtra Legislative Assembly.
- In the 2014 Lok Sabha election, Patole defeated the central union minister and NCP leader Praful Patel by 149,254 votes on BJP's ticket.
- As Member of Parliament in 16th Lok Sabha, he represented Bhandara-Gondiya constituency.
- In 2017, he resigned from the Lok Sabha and quit the party too.
- On 2018, January 11, Patole joined the Congress party.
- Patole represents the Sakoli Assembly segment in Vidarbha. This is the fourth term as an MLA.
- He is known to fight for the rights of OBCs and underprivileged class. He quit the BJP following differences with the party on agrarian issues.
- Since 1999 he had been serving as a member of Legislative Assembly in Maharashtra.
- During his initial years in politics, he was a member of Bhandara Zilla Parishad from Sangadi Zilla Parishad Constituency.
