BJP's Rahul Narwekar, a first-time MLA, was elected as the new speaker of the Maharashtra assembly on the first day of the two-day special session, which began on Sunday, July 3.
Following Sunday's win where Narwekar was elected as the Speaker, on Monday, June 4, the Shinde-led state government faces a floor test. The special two-day session of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly is being conducted following the Maharashtra political crisis that erupted after the rebellion initiated by Shinde. On Thursday, Shinde toppled the MVA government and became the Chief Minister of Maharashtra.
According to reports, on Sunday, Shinde along with his faction of Shiv Sena MLAs with Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis, BJP MLAs and others conducted a meeting in Mumbai to draw the plan for today's floor test.
Fadnavis has reportedly claimed that they will prove the majority with 166 votes. He was quoted elaborating on how the youngest speaker candidate won the speaker election with 164 votes. He added that in the vote of confidence we will prove our majority with 166 votes.
Narwekar won the speaker election by defeating Shiv Sena's Rajan Salvi. While Narwekar attained an aggregate of 164 votes in support, Salvi attained 107. Further, 12 members were absent and 3 abstained from voting.
Amid the tussle between two Shiv Sena teams led by Uddhav Thackeray and Eknath Shinde, both have issued separate whips to the party MLAs to vote in the favour of their respective candidates in speaker elections. Later they accused each other of violating them.
Based on accounts, Shiv Sena MP Arvind Sawant, from the Uddhav Thackeray camp voiced that 39 MLAs from the party did not obey their whip, thus, their disqualification from the state Assembly is sought.
However, Narwekar took to record the letter sent by Bharat Gogawale, the chief whip of the Eknath-Shinde camp that 16 MLAs from Thackeray's camp, violated the whip. Further, Thackeray's faction has commenced the legal process to disqualify 16 MLAs, including Shinde.
On the other hand, in Shinde's first address on the state legislative assembly's floor as the CM, on Sunday he elucidated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shah's decision enabled him to lead the government, in spite of them having more members have opened many eyes.
Further, he articulated that following the collapse of the MVA government, the Shiv Sena-BJP government has taken charge on the basis of Balasaheb Thackeray's belief.
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