Who is Rahul Narwekar, newly elected Speaker of Maharashtra Assembly

Days after Eknath Shinde took over as the chief minister and the BJP returned to power in the state, first-time BJP legislator Rahul Narwekar was elected as the Maharashtra Assembly Speaker on Sunday.

BJP's Rahul Narwekar has been elected as the Speaker of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly today. Rahul got 164 votes in support while he needed 145 votes to win. Narwekar belongs to a political family. He is an MLA from the Colaba Assembly seat of Maharashtra.

The newly elected Speaker was pitted against Maha Vikas Aghadi's candidate, Rajan Salvi. Rahul Narwekar is a well-known face in Maharashtra politics. He is a lawyer by profession. In the Assembly elections held in 2019, Narwekar became an MLA for the first time.

Rahul Narwekar had been associated with Shiv Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party in the past. He has also been the spokesperson of the Shiv Sena Youth Wing.

Rahul Narwekar belongs to a political family. His father, Suresh Narwekar, was a councillor. In 2014, Rahul Narwekar was in the Shiv Sena. During that time, he was presenting his claim to contest in the Lok Sabha elections but he did not get the ticket.

Rahul Narwekar joined the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) after Shiv Sena refused him the ticket. The NCP fielded Rahul Narwekar from the Maval Lok Sabha constituency but Narwekarl had to face defeat. Later, he joined the BJP.

The post of Maharashtra Assembly Speaker was vacant since February 2021 after Congress leader Nana Patole resigned. Eknath Shinde took the oath as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra on Thursday. The session of the Vidhan Sabha started today. After the election of the Speaker of the Assembly, the floor test will be held on Monday.