Speaker to be elected on Monday, Narwekar likely to get second term

MUMBAI: After the appointment of the chief minister and his two deputies, all eyes are on the election of the new Speaker of the Maharashtra assembly. The election to this critical post is set to be held on Monday.

Just as it did in its previous term, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is likely to reserve the Speaker’s post for itself and nominate Rahul Narwekar for a second term, party insiders said. Narwekar, BJP MLA from Colaba, was speaker during the Mahayuti government’s previous term as well, and will be remembered for two landmark verdicts, one in favour of Eknath Shinde and the other in favour of Ajit Pawar in the disqualification petitions filed by their rival factions. His verdict in the Shiv Sena case also paved the way for Eknath Shinde to become chief minister (and claim the party name and symbol).

“The party was considering several names. The Shiv Sena had staked its claim but we decided to keep it with us. Narwekar is our first choice as his performance as speaker in the last assembly was commendable,” said a senior BJP leader.

On Saturday, the state legislature issued a notice announcing the election for the post on Monday. Candidates will have to file their nominations by 12pm on Sunday. Nominations will be scrutinised on the same day. On Monday, a motion will be moved by a member of the ruling alliance, fielding a name to be appointed as the new speaker. If the motion is passed, the MLA will be appointed to the post. If the opposition fields a candidate, an election will be held for the position.

Narwekar said his party had not said anything to him so far. “I have not received any formal communication yet but I will stand by any decision my party takes. I will be happy to serve in any capacity they want me to,” he said.

Narwekar was appointed speaker in the previous Mahayuti government after the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government was toppled following a split in the Shiv Sena led by Eknath Shinde in 2022. It was Narwekar who declared the Shinde-led Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) the ‘real’ parties, and ruled out any disqualification of their MLAs as demanded by the rival factions led by Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar, respectively.

In both cases, Narwekar stated that the grounds for ruling in favor of Ekanth Shinde and Ajit Pawar were that the breakaway factions had a majority of MLAs at the time of the split. Both the Thackeray and Sharad Pawar factions of the Sena and NCP have challenged Narwekar’s ruling before the Supreme Court and the verdicts are pending.

Narwekar is a two-time MLA from the Colaba assembly constituency in Mumbai. He started his political career with the Shiv Sena but left the party after he was denied a ticket for the 2014 Lok Sabha election. He joined the NCP that same year and unsuccessfully contested the polls from the Maval seat. In 2019, he switched to the BJP and was elected from Colaba for the first time. In July 2022, he was elected speaker of the state assembly.