A day after the ruling alliance NCP-Congress-Shiv Sena cleared the floor test, the election for the Speaker’s post for Maharashtra Assembly will be held today. Meanwhile, the BJP has taken back the nomination of its candidate, Kisab Kathore, for the post of Maharashtra Assembly speaker making Aghadi’s candidate Nana Patole unopposed.
Maharashtra Assembly Live Updates
On Saturday, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, along with Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Congress passed the floor test in the Maharashtra Assembly with 169 votes. According to the apparent power-sharing formula between members of Maha Vikas Aghadi –Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress — the speaker will be elected from the Congress, while, the deputy chief minister will come from the NCP.
Around 9:56 AM, the leaders of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Congress, Shiv Sena and the Bharatiya Janata Party have arrived at Vidhan Bhawan for the election of Maharashtra Assembly speaker.
At 10 AM, the party sources revealed that the BJP will contest the election for Maharashtra Assembly speaker only if it happens through secret ballot.
Nana Patole New Maharashtra Speaker
Around 10:05 AM, the BJP has taken back it’s speaker candidate, Kisan Kathore’s nomination making Aghadi’s Nana Patole unopposed. Meanwhile, NCP leader Chaggan Bhujbal said, “Earlier, Opposition also filled the form for the post of Assembly Speaker, but after request by other MLAs and to keep the dignity of Assembly intact, they have taken back the name. Now, election of Speaker will happen unopposed.” The statement was backed later by BJP leader Chandrakant Patil.
Meanwhile, the Leader of Opposition will be elected today after the Speaker’s election which will be followed by a motion of thanks on the Governor’s address in the House.
At 10:41 AM, BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis has been appointed as Leader of Opposition in Maharashtra assembly. This will be announced on the floor of the house.
At 11:09 AM, Maharashtra assembly session has started and Maha Vikas Aghadi candidate and Congress MLA Nana Patole has been elected as the new Assembly Speaker.
Devendra Fadnavis Leader of Opposition
AT 11:17 AM, Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray congratulates Congress MLA Nana Patole for being elected as Maharashtra Assembly speaker.
He said, “Nana Patole has also come from a farmer family & I am very confident that he will give justice to everyone.”
At 12:00 PM, BJP MLA Pankaja Munde has put up a Facebook post calling for a meeting of her supporters from across the state. Pankaja will be addressing her supporters on December 12, which is also the birth anniversary of her father Gopinath Munde.
In the post, Pankaja said after her defeat she got several calls and messages from her supporters to meet, but due to the political situation, she couldn’t speak to them. She further said, in the changed political scenario the future course of action needs to be decided. “You are asking me for time.. I am going to give you time…After eight to ten days… these eight-ten days I want time to communicate with myself a little bit. What to do next? Which way to go? What can we give to our people? What is your power? What do people expect? I am going to be in the presence of all these things,” she said.
At 12:58 PM, BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis has been named Leader of Opposition in Maharashtra Assembly.
At 1:31 PM, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray says he has learnt a lot of things from former chief minister Devendra Fadvanis and that he will always be friends with him.
He adds: “I won’t call you (Devendra Fadnavis) an ‘Opposition leader’, but I will call you a ‘responsible leader’ so that we can together work for the welfare of the state. If you would have been good to us then, all this (BJP-Shiv Sena split) would have not happened.”
He further said, “I am a lucky CM because those who opposed me are now with me and those who I was with are now on the opposite side. I am here with my luck and blessings of people. I have never told anyone that I will be coming here but I came.”
At 2:00 PM, Devendra Fadnavis said that Protem Speaker Dilip Walse Patil requested for consensus to elect Assembly Speaker unanimously and the Maharashtra BJP agreed to this.
He further said to the speaker, “I was expecting you would become an agriculture minister. But whatever position you are given you will help farmers through it.”
Maharashtra Assembly Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday said Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray should now fulfill his own earlier demand of Rs 25,000 per hectare to farmers for crop damages.
At 2:45 PM, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Supriya Sule has demanded Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray for a separate ministry for specially-able people. She has also demanded to shut down of Maha portal and opening a new website for jobs for youth.
At 3:07 PM, BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis thanked on being elected as opposition leader and said that he is happy to have worked with Uddhav for last five years. He looked directly at Uddhav Thackeray in the Assembly today and said, “whenever the government will need us we will be there”.
