Election for Maha Assembly Speaker today, govt to face floor test tomorrow | 10 points
India Today
The four-day-old Maharashtra government will face the floor test on July 4 during the special two-day session of the Legislative Assembly beginning here today. The election for the post of Speaker will be held today.
The Maharashtra Assembly Speaker election will be held today after the House proceedings begin at 11 am. The four-day-old Shiv Sena-BJP government will face the floor test tomorrow during the special two-day session of the Legislative Assembly.
Sena MLA and Uddhav Thackeray loyalist Rajan Salvi is the candidate of the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress combine for the Speaker's election. He is pitted against first-time BJP legislator Rahul Narvekar.
"BJP candidate Rahul Narwekar's name will be proposed for the Speaker post. First, there'll be a voice vote. If someone asks for division of votes, then it'll be done and the elected Speaker will take charge. We expect our candidate to get 165-170 votes," said BJP's Sudhir Mungantiwar.
He added, "No whip is implemented in the election of Speaker so I appeal to all members to vote as per their conscience. Shiv Sena of Balasaheb Thackeray's ideology has been given a whip and so has the Uddhav Thackeray faction. We have an alliance with Balasaheb's Shiv Sena."
The post of Speaker has been vacant since February last year after Nana Patole of Congress quit.
- Rebel Shiv Sena MLAs who support Shinde returned to Mumbai from Goa on Saturday evening on the eve of the Assembly session and were lodged in a luxury hotel in south Mumbai, where Vidhan Bhavan, the venue of the floor test, is located.
