BJP’s Rahul Narwekar new Speaker of Maharashtra Assembly

Mumbai: On expected lines, Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Rahul Narwekar was elected as the new Speaker of Maharashtra Legislative Assembly here on Sunday.

He defeated his sole rival – Maha Vikas Aghadi-backed Shiv Sena candidate Rajan Salvi – with a comfortable margin. He received a total of 164 votes in support and 107 against him.

The elections were held by a division of votes on the first of the two-day Special Assembly Session ordered by the Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari, last weekend.

On June 4, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, supported by the BJP, will seek a ‘vote of confidence’ in the new government sworn-in on June 30 after the collapse of the MVA government led by Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray.

[With agency input)