Rahul Narwekar of MahaYuti Submits Nomination for Assembly Speaker, Poised for Uncontested Election
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Mumbai, Dec 8 (NationPress) BJP legislator Rahul Narwekar has officially submitted his nomination representing MahaYuti for the role of Speaker of the 15th Maharashtra Legislative Assembly on Sunday. The deadline for nominations was at 12 p.m., with the election scheduled for Monday.
The Assembly Secretariat confirmed that Narwekar's nomination is the only one received, as the Maha Vikas Aghadi has chosen not to field a candidate due to insufficient numbers. Consequently, Narwekar is anticipated to be elected without opposition and will assume his duties on Monday.
Narwekar previously took office as the Speaker of the 14th State Assembly in July 2022 after a government shift following a rebellion led by Eknath Shinde against Uddhav Thackeray. He secured 164 votes, outperforming Shiv Sena-UBT legislator Rajan Salvi, who received 107 votes during the Speaker's election held on July 3, 2022.
This move by the BJP mirrors their Lok Sabha strategy where they nominated Om Birla for a second consecutive term as Speaker, who was elected after defeating Congress candidate K Suresh.
Narwekar, elected from the Colaba constituency for a second term following the 2019 elections, was previously affiliated with both Shiv Sena and the NCP (united).
During the 14th State Assembly, Narwekar, in his capacity as Speaker, made two significant rulings following the split within the Shiv Sena and NCP.
On January 10 this year, he ruled that the Eknath Shinde faction represented the legitimate and “real Shiv Sena,” enjoying the backing of the majority of the party's MLAs. In February, he declared that the Ajit Pawar-led NCP was the authentic version of the NCP amidst the emergence of two factions in 2023.
As the three-day special session of the 15th Maharashtra Assembly commenced on Saturday, the proceedings were overseen by pro-tem Speaker Kalidas Kolambkar, a seasoned BJP legislator with nine terms served.
