Election for deputy speaker on March 26

Narwekar said nominations for the post must be filed by 12 pm on Tuesday, and scrutiny will be conducted the same day. Candidates can withdraw their nominations latest by 11 am on Wednesday, the day of polling

Published on: Mar 25, 2025, 06:00:06 IST

By Faisal Malik

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MUMBAI: The election to the post of deputy speaker in the Maharashtra assembly will be held on March 26, speaker Rahul Narwekar announced on Monday. The post has been vacant since the Mahayuti alliance government returned to power late last year.

Narwekar said nominations for the post must be filed by 12 pm on Tuesday, and scrutiny will be conducted the same day. Candidates can withdraw their nominations latest by 11 am on Wednesday, the day of polling.

In the assembly elections last year, the ruling alliance won an unprecedented majority – 235 seats in the 288-member house. The deputy speaker’s post is likely to go to the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) led by Ajit Pawar. The NCP is considering two names — Rajkumar Badole and Anna Bansode.

Even though the opposition has no chance of winning the deputy speaker’s position, the Congress has called a meeting of its MLAs to discuss the possibility as it has the second-highest number of MLAs in the assembly — 16 — after its alliance partner in the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), the Shiv Sena (UBT) — 20.

The issue of leader of the opposition (LoP) was also raised in the assembly, with former LoP Vijay Wadettiwar requesting the speaker to make the appointment. The Shiv Sena (UBT), which has the highest number of MLAs in the opposition, has claimed the post and has nominated Bhaskar Jadhav for the position.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Faisal Malik
Faisal Malik is a senior journalist with over two and a half decades of experience covering Maharashtra’s politics, governance and public policy with a deep understanding of the state’s political landscape. He is a Senior Assistant Editor at Hindustan Times and has been associated with its Mumbai edition for more than a decade. Based in Mumbai, Faisal currently covers three major political parties in Maharashtra — Congress, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and NCP (Sharad Pawar). Over the years, he has extensively reported on major political developments, combining investigative insights with in-depth field reporting. His coverage has spanned a wide range of issues, from drought, farmer suicides, major development projects and grassroots challenges to major electoral battles, including three Lok Sabha and Maharashtra Assembly elections — 2014, 2019 and 2024. Before joining Hindustan Times, he worked with ‘The Asian Age’ and ‘Dainik Bhaskar’. An avid tea enthusiast, he enjoys reading history, Urdu literature and classical poetry. When away from the newsroom, he writes Urdu poetry inspired by human emotions, life's experiences, meaningful reflections and relationships. An amateur photographer, Faisal is passionate about capturing moments that often go unnoticed by the naked eye.Read More

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