Page 2 - Maharashtra Assembly

BJP's Rahul Narwekar set to become Maharashtra Assembly speaker unopposed

BJP's Rahul Narwekar is poised to be elected unopposed as the speaker of the Maharashtra legislative assembly, with the opposition alliance Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) deciding not to put up a contest. Narwekar, who was the speaker in the 14th assembly for two and a half years and gave the key verdicts tied to the Shiv Sena and NCP, was reelected from the Colaba assembly seat in Mumbai. Accompanied by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and his deputies Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar, Narwekar filed his nomination before the legislature secretary Jitendra Bhole on Sunday. MVA leaders met Fadnavis and urged him to follow the protocol of giving the deputy speaker's post to the opposition. They also sought the post of the leader of the opposition. The speaker's election will be formally announced in the House on Monday. This will be followed by a floor test to prove the new government's strength. Governor CP Radhakrishnan will then address the joint session of both Houses of the state ...

MVA members decide against taking oath as MLAs to protest EVM 'misuse'

Opposition Maha Vikas Agahdi (MVA) members in Maharashtra on Saturday decided not to take oath as MLAs on the first day of the special three-day assembly session, alleging misuse of EVMs in the recently-held state polls. The special session of the Lower House of the state legislature began here at 11 am. Several members belonging to the ruling parties, including Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and his deputies Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar, took oath as members of the assembly. However, members from the opposition parties - Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP) - decided not to take oath. Talking to reporters on the premises of the Vidhan Bhavan, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray said, "The MVA has decided not to take oath as members of the House today. When a government comes to power with such a thumping majority, there are celebrations. A question arises whether the mandate it received was given by the people or the EVM and Election Commission of India." The opposition i

Fadnavis, Shinde, Ajit Pawar take oath as members of Maharashtra Assembly

A special three-day session of the newly-constituted 288-member Maharashtra legislative assembly began here on Saturday, where MLAs will be administered the oath of office. Senior BJP MLA Kalidas Kolambkar on Friday took oath as a legislator and was then appointed pro-tem speaker of legislative assembly by Governor C P Radhakrishnan. A nine-time MLA, Kolambkar is the senior most legislator in the House and represents the Wadala assembly constituency in Mumbai. As pro-tem speaker, he will administer the oath of office to the rest of the 287 newly-elected MLAs. The assembly speaker's election will be held on December 9, which will be followed by a trust vote of the Devendra Fadnavis-led government and the governor's address to the joint sitting of both the houses of the state legislature. Results of the November 20 assembly polls were declared on November 23, wherein the Mahayuti alliance of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) registered

BJP MLA Kolambkar takes oath as pro-tem Speaker of Maharashtra Assembly

BJP MLA Kalidas Kolambkar will take oath as the pro-tem Speaker of the Maharashtra legislative assembly on Friday, a day before the special three-day session of the Lower House of the state legislature begins. Talking to PTI this morning, Kolambkar, a nine-time MLA, confirmed that he will take oath as the pro-tem speaker at 1 pm at the Raj Bhavan. Governor C P Radhakrishnan will administer the oath to him, he said. Kolambkar currently represents the Wadala assembly constituency in Mumbai. As pro-tem speaker, he will administer the oath of office to 288 newly-elected MLAs, conduct the assembly speaker's election during the three-day special session of the 15th assembly beginning December 7. The speaker's election will be held on December 9 followed by a trust vote of the Devendra Fadnavis-led Mahayuti government. Fadnavis on Thursday evening took oath as the state chief minister, while leaders of the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance, Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar, were sworn in as deputy

Maha Assembly's special session from Dec 7 for MLAs oath, speaker election

A three-day special session of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly will be held in Mumbai from December 7 to enable newly-elected MLAs to take oath and elect a speaker, legislature sources said on Wednesday. The winter session of the state legislature will be held in Nagpur from December 16 to 21. The sources told PTI that newly-elected MLAs will be sworn-in on December 7 and 8. On December 9, election for the speaker of the newly-constituted 15th assembly will be held and this will be followed by trust vote of the new Mahayuti government. At 4 pm, Governor CP Radhakrishnan will address a joint sitting of both houses of the legislature. Later, both houses will be convened and a condolence motion to pay homage to departed members and tabling of the Governor's address for discussion will be on the agenda, they said. The discussion on the Governors speech will be held in the winter session from December 16 to 21 in Nagpur, said the sources. The sources said the agenda for holding ..

BJP legislature party leader will be finalised by new MLAs: Vijay Rupani

Former Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani, one of the two BJP observers for its Maharashtra legislature party meeting, on Tuesday said the name of the legislature party leader will be finalised after talks with the party's newly-elected MLAs. Rupani, who arrived in Mumbai late this evening for the meeting BJP's crucial legislature party to be held on Wednesday, said if there is unanimity, then only one name will be selected. The BJP has achieved remarkable success in the November 20 Maharashtra elections, securing 132 out of 288 seats, marking its best performance in the state so far. Former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis is being seen as the frontrunner for the top post in the new BJP-Shiv Sena-NCP government. Speaking to reporters, Rupani said, "The government will be formed. Discussions with the elected MLAs will take place tomorrow. One name will be finalised and it will be announced later." He said the process of finalising the leader of the BJP's legislative party follows

Maharashtra Elections 2024: Voter turnout records at 32.18% till 1 pm

In the Gadchiroli district, voter participation surpassed 50 per cent by 1 PM, while Mumbai City reported the lowest turnout at 27.73 per cent

Maharashtra elections 2024: Steps to check your name on Voters' List online

As all 288 constituencies are scheduled to participate in the Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024 on November 20, voters must make sure their names appear on the official electoral records

How Dalit divides and political ties create a complex battle in Maharashtra

In wake of Supreme Court's sub-classification verdict, SHREYAS UBGADE analyses how ideological divides and political alignments of Dalit groups make this a complex electoral battle in Maharashtra

Gamble or gambit? BJP-led Mahayuti cobbling up non-Maratha caste coalition

The 2024 Lok Sabha polls saw sharp polarisation of Maratha and OBC votes across Maharashtra, particularly in Marathwada, where the BJP-led alliance could win only one of the eight seats

Ajit to emerge as key player after Maharashtra Assembly polls: Nawab Malik

"There are even speculations that NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar and Eknath Shinde, who heads the Shiv Sena, will join hands," he claimed

Assembly polls: Maharashtra to vote on Nov 20, Jharkhand on Nov 13 & 20

CEC describes electronic media's early trends on counting day as 'nonsense'

Ahead of polls, Maharashtra eyes Rs 15 lakh OBC 'non-creamy layer' limit

The Maharashtra cabinet aims to raise the OBC 'non-creamy layer' income limit from Rs 8 lakh to Rs 15 lakh, expanding reservation access before Assembly elections

Maharashtra BJP prez Bawankule alleges conspiracy in voters registration

Chandrashekhar Bawankule, BJP president in Maharashtra, said that at least 3000 voters were registered for two Assembly constituencies, who, according to him, belonged to one particular community

Highlights of the day: My aim is to make Mumbai a global fintech capital, says PM Modi

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Maha Vikas Aghadi discuss seat-sharing, Congress likely to keep most seats

Congress is likely to contest 120-130 assembly seats; the Shiv Sena (UBT) 90-100 seats while the NCP-SP is likely to contest 75-80 seats in the coming elections, sources said

Union HM Amit Shah likely to address BJP meeting in Pune on July 14

Union Home Minister and senior BJP leader Amit Shah is likely to address a party meeting in Pune on July 14 ahead of the Maharashtra assembly elections, the party's state unit chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule said here on Saturday. Speaking to reporters, he said, "Nearly 4,500 party functionaries will attend a meeting of the BJP in Pune. We have requested Amit Shah to address the meeting and he has agreed to come to Pune. The meeting will be crucial ahead of Maharashtra assembly elections." The assembly elections are likely to be held in October this year. When asked about the Maharashtra legislative council polls scheduled next month, Bawankule said, "The names will be finalised either today or tomorrow. I am sure that our central parliamentary board will finalise some good names that will be beneficial for the state." "The BJP would like to have the chairperson post of the state legislative council, but we will discuss it with Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Deputy Chief Minister Aji

Pune police chief played proactive role in Porsche crash probe: Fadnavis

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday told the legislative assembly that Pune police chief Amitesh Kumar had a proactive role in the investigation into the Porsche crash and there was nothing to suggest that action should be taken against him. Fadnavis made the assertions during a debate on the high-profile case raised through a calling attention notice. During the debate, Leader of Opposition Vijay Wadettiwar demanded the Pune police commissioner's resignation. Conceding that there are issues of use of money to buy justice, Fadnavis said, "This should not be allowed. We have to see how laws can be strengthened further. The issue is serious but there is no need to defame Pune police. They have taken action in the case. Erring police officials have been punished. He said Pune Police Commissioner Amitesh Kumar had a proactive role in the probe into the accident and nothing has come up to suggest that he should face action. Two software professionals lost their

Gear up for Maha assembly polls to ensure victory: Goyal urges BJP cadres

Senior BJP leader and Union minister Piyush Goyal has said that active participation of party members was crucial to start preparing for the upcoming Maharashtra assembly polls to fix shortcomings in the party system. He also emphasised the importance of encouraging people to come out and vote, given the low response in the recently held Lok Sabha elections. "I am confident that the (party) system will be better ahead of the next state polls. If we start making efforts now, there will be no shortcomings ahead of the Maharashtra assembly elections that will be held in the next 3-4 months," Goyal said during a public function late Wednesday evening. "We need to encourage people again to come out and vote. This time, we need to win all the six assembly seats under the Mumbai North Lok Sabha seat," the Union Commerce Minister said. Of the six assembly constituencies under the Mumbai North Lok Sabha seat, the BJP won four in the 2019 elections, while the Shiv Sena and Congress bagged ..

CM Shinde thanks Raj Thackeray for his support to ruling 'Mahayuti' in Maha

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Tuesday thanked MNS president Raj Thackeray for extending unconditional support to the ruling 'Mahayuti' alliance of the BJP, Shiv Sena and NCP and backing Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Taking a jibe at his rival and former CM Uddhav Thackeray without mentioning his name, Shinde said those counting 'rokad' (money) while sitting at home during COVID-19 have no right to criticise Modi. Shinde, speaking with the media at the Nagpur airport, thanked Raj Thackeray for supporting the ruling 'Mahayuti' (grand alliance). Addressing his party's annual rally in Mumbai on Gudi Padwa (traditional Maharashtra New Year that symbolises fresh beginnings, auspiciousness), Raj Thackeray announced unconditional support to the 'Mahayuti' alliance and backed PM Modi. Asked whether Mahayuti will give Lok Sabha seats to the MNS to contest, Shinde said the Raj Thackeray-led outfit has not put any conditions for supporting the three-party alliance. The MNS ...