Maha Speaker polls: Opposition stood no chance against the might of BJP-Shinde combine
India Today
The result from the Maharashtra Assembly Speaker election showed the Opposition does not have the numbers to battle the BJP-Shinde alliance.
First-time BJP legislator Rahul Narwekar was elected as the Maharashtra Assembly Speaker on Sunday. Narwekar got 164 votes in the Assembly.
A detailed breakdown of the numbers reveal that the Opposition did not stand a chance against the BJP-Shinde alliance. This means that even if all 39 Shiv Sena MLAs who were with Eknath Shinde were disqualified, the Opposition would have lost regardless.
The Maharashtra Assembly has a total of 288 members. There is a vacancy due to the death of Shiv Sena MLA Ramesh Latke last month. This means the tipping scale is at 144.
Narwekar won by 164 votes on Sunday. Even if the 39 Shiv Sena MLAs were disqualified, the number is still 125.
However, the Samajwadi Party (SP) abstained from voting against BJP candidate Narwekar. Both its MLAs, Abu Azmi and Raees Shaikh kept sitting during the head count.
The MLAs who did not vote in the Speaker elections are 7 from NCP, 2 from BJP, 1 Congress MLA and one AIMIM MLA.
In the 288-member House, 10 lawmakers from smaller parties and independents, as well as 106 BJP MLAs, support Eknath Shinde. Shiv Sena has 55 seats, NCP has 53, Congress has 44, BJP has 106, Bahujan Vikas Aghadi has 3, Samajwadi has 2, AIMIM has 2, Prahar Janshakti has 1, CPI (M) has 1, PWP has 1, Swambhimani Paksha has 1, Rashtriya Samaj Paksha has 1, Jansurajya Shakti Party has 1, Krantikari Shetkari Party.
