Maharashtra Assembly to elect new Speaker today: Rahul Narwekar likely to be elected unopposed

Rahul Narwekar, Maharashtra legislative assembly, Maharashtra assembly Speaker, BJP, MVA — Image Source : X/@CBAWANKULE BJP MLA Rahul Narwekar filed his nomination for the post of Speaker in the Maharashtra legislative assembly.

Maharashtra Assembly Speaker: BJP leader Rahul Narwekar is set to be elected unopposed as the Speaker of the Maharashtra legislative assembly, with the opposition alliance Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) has not fielded any candidate for the election set to be held on Monday (December 9).

Notably, Monday is the third and last day of the special session of the Maharashtra assembly and the Speaker will be elected tomorrow. After the Speaker election, there will be a majority test to prove the new government’s strength. The government is expected to secure its majority through a voice vote.

Governor CP Radhakrishnan will then address the joint session of both Houses of the state legislature.

Rahul Narwekar files nomination for Speaker's post

Earlier in the day, Narwekar filed his nomination for the post of Speaker in the Maharashtra legislative assembly. He was accompanied by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy Chief Ministers Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar.

Narwekar, who was the speaker in the 14th assembly for two and a half years and gave the key verdicts tied to the Shiv Sena and NCP, was reelected from the Colaba assembly seat in Mumbai. State BJP chief Chandrashekar Bawankule and senior BJP leader Chandrakant Patil were also present.

MVA demands deputy speaker's post

MVA leaders met with CM Fadnavis to request to follow protocol by allotting the Deputy Speaker's position to the opposition. They also demanded the Leader of the Opposition post.

As Speaker of the Maharashtra Assembly, Rahul Narwekar had previously ruled in favor of the factions led by Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar, recognizing them as the legitimate "real Shiv Sena" and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), respectively, following splits in the Bal Thackeray-founded Shiv Sena and the Sharad Pawar-founded NCP.