Maharashtra Assembly Speaker election today: Eknath Shinde-BJP vs Team Uddhav Thackeray Round 2

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and his ally BJP trumped Uddhav Thackeray in the first round of the Maharashtra political tussle, as the latter was forced to resign from the top post following a revolt by 40 Shiv Sena MLAs.

Today, Round 2 of the political saga will be played out as the Maharashtra Assembly will vote to elect the new Speaker of the house. The elections will be held just a day ahead of the Maharashtra floor test, where Eknath Shinde will prove his majority.

Hence, Sunday’s elections could be deemed as a mini floor test as the two sides would need to display their support base in order to get their candidate elected. The results will provide a glimpse of what could transpire on Monday. On Saturday night, the rebel Sena MLAs, loyal to Eknath Shinde, returned to Mumbai from Goa, to take part in the speaker’s elections and the floor test on Monday.

Eknath Shinde-led government, which assumed office on June 30, has fielded BJP MLA Rahul Narwekar, whereas the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress alliance has pitched Rajan Salvi. Both the leaders have filed their nominations.

“We have filed the nomination of Sena MLA Salvi and the decision was reached after consultations among the three parties,” said Congress leader Balasaheb Thorat.

The Congress on Friday said the Speaker’s election cannot take place due to a pending case.

“We don`t understand the urgency to call a Special Assembly Session on Sunday. There is a case pending in the Supreme Court. When we were in the (MVA) government, the Governor kept telling us for months that since the matter is sub-judice, he cannot allow the Speaker elections. Then, how has he permitted it for the new government,” Thorat had said.

The Maharashtra Assembly doesn’t have a full-time speaker as of now. Nana Patole, the last speaker, had resigned from the post in 2021 when he became the state Congress chief. NCP’s Deputy Speaker Narhari Zirwal was officiating.

How do the numbers stack up?

The Maharashtra Assembly has a total strength of 288 MLAs. Currently the strength is 287, which means the majority mark is 144. If any candidate gets as many votes, he will become the new Maharashtra speaker. Currently the BJP has 106 MLAs in the house and is the single largest party. It claims it has the support of over 10 Independent MLAs. Eknath Shinde claims the support of 39 Shiv Sena MLAs. If these numbers add up, the BJP candidate will get over 150 votes, enough for him to become the speaker. Before Uddhav Thackeray’s sudden resignation, Sanjay Raut had claimed he was in touch with 20 MLAs. If these MLAs cross vote, it may lead to adverse results for the BJP-backed candidate.