BJP leader Rahul Narwekar elected as Maharashtra Assembly Speaker

BJP candidate Rahul Narwekar was elected as the Speaker of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly as the special session began after the formation of new Eknath Shinde government

Bharatiya Janata Party candidate Rahul Narwekar was elected as the Speaker of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly on Sunday as the special session began after the formation of new Eknath Shinde government in the state.

Narwekar received a total of 164 votes in support and 107 against him.

Soon after this, Narwekar took charge as the Speaker of Maharashtra Assembly amid chants of "Jai Bhavani, Jai Shivaji", "Jai Sri Ram", "Bharat Mata ki Jai" and "Vande Mataram".

During the session, Samajwadi Party (SP) abstained from voting against the BJP candidate. Both its MLAs Abu Azmi and Raees Shaikh kept sitting during the head count.

Notably, AIMIM also abstained from voting against BJP's Narwekar.

A total of three MLAs abstained from voting in the Assembly including AIMIM's Shah Farukh Anwar, SP's two MLAs while one AIMIM MLA was absent from the House.