Pune set to hold both assembly, council deputy speaker posts
Bansode, three-time legislator from Pimpri and member of the Scheduled Castes, is likely to be elected unopposed
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MLA from Pimpri in Pune district and deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar loyalist Anna Bansode is set to become the deputy speaker of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly (Vidhan Sabha) on Wednesday.
Bansode, three-time legislator from Pimpri and member of the Scheduled Castes, is likely to be elected unopposed. The ruling Mahayuti coalition, which holds a commanding majority in the Assembly, has not faced any opposition from the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) for the post.
With Bansode’s election, both the deputy speaker of the Assembly and the deputy chairperson of the Maharashtra Legislative Council (MLC) will now be from Pune. The Council’s deputy chairperson, Neelam Gorhe, belongs to the Shiv Sena led by deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde.
In the 288-member Assembly, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has 132 seats, Shiv Sena holds 57, and NCP has 41. The coalition, known as Mahayuti, had filed Bansode’s nomination on Tuesday. Since no other candidate has entered the fray, his unopposed election is a certainty.
Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, his deputy Ajit and ministers Chandrakant Patil and Uday Samant were present during the nomination filing.
Bansode, who comes from a humble background, once ran a paan shop before entering politics. He was elected as a corporator in the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation in 1997 and 2002, also serving as the standing committee chairman.
He first became an MLA in 2009 by defeating BJP’s Amar Sable but lost in 2014. He made a comeback the same year in by-elections and retained his seat in 2019.
The assembly speaker’s post is currently held by BJP’s Rahul Narvekar, while the legislative council’s chairperson is from Shinde’s Shiv Sena. Bansode’s appointment as deputy speaker strengthens NCP’s role within Mahayuti, with Pawar rewarding his longtime loyalist.
Despite opposition within the Pimpri constituency, Bansode secured his candidacy due to his unwavering support for Pawar. During Pawar’s 2019 rebellion, he was reportedly the only MLA who remained with him round the clock while others distanced themselves. In 2019, he defeated Sulakshna Shilwant of Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) to retain his seat.
