Ram Shinde files nomination for Maharashtra Legislative Council chairperson post
The Hindu
BJP's Ram Shinde files nomination for Maharashtra Legislative Council chairperson election, addressing Dhangar community's reservation demand.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLC Ram Shinde filed nomination on Wednesday (December 18, 2024) for the Maharashtra Legislative Council chairperson election, scheduled for Thursday. If Mr. Shinde secures the position, the BJP will hold presiding officer roles in both the Houses of the State legislature, following the unopposed election of BJP MLA Rahul Narwekar as Speaker of the 15th Maharashtra Legislative Assembly last week.
The chairperson’s post remained vacant since July 7, 2022, when Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ramraje Naik-Nimbalkar’s term ended. Mr. Shinde, who joined the council on July 8, 2022, previously served as a Minister in the Devendra Fadnavis-led government (2014-19). However, he faced electoral defeats to NCP’s Rohit Pawar in the 2019 and 2020 State Assembly elections.
Mr. Shinde submitted his nomination in the presence of prominent leaders, including Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, BJP State president Chandrashekar Bawankule and senior BJP leader Chandrakant Patil.
His appointment is viewed as a strategic move by the BJP to address the Dhangar community’s longstanding demand for inclusion in the Scheduled Tribes (ST) reservation list. Presently classified under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category, the Dhangar community forms a significant part of the BJP’s vote bank.
The Maharashtra Legislative Council, with 78 members, includes 19 BJP representatives, followed by the Congress and the Shiv Sena (UBT) with seven each, Shiv Sena with six and five each from the NCP(Sharad Pawar) and the NCP factions. Three seats are held by independents. Recently, Governor C.P. Radhakrishnan appointed seven MLCs under the gubernatorial quota, filling 12 vacant posts.
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