Special Maharashtra session begins amid opposition boycott over EVMs

Opposition members subsequently gathered outside to pay respects to Maratha king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj

Mumbai: A three-day special session of the Maharashtra assembly commenced on Saturday to administer oaths to newly elected MLAs, with the Speaker election scheduled for Monday.

Opposition parties chose to boycott the first day's proceedings (Raju Shinde)

The opposition parties chose to boycott the first day's proceedings after BJP MLA Chainsukh Sancheti was among the first legislators to take the oath of secrecy.

Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP) MLAs abstained from taking their oaths on the opening day in protest against alleged electronic voting machine (EVM) manipulation.

Following the swearing-in of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy Chief Ministers Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar, Congress state president Nana Patole, representing the Sakoli assembly constituency, was called but opted to exit the house.

The opposition members subsequently gathered outside to pay respects to Maratha king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj at his statue in the Vidhan Bhavan premises.

Bhaskar Jadhav, who leads Shiv Sena (UBT) in the state assembly, clarified their position: "Though we are not against taking the oath of secrecy as MLAs, we have decided not to take oath today. Mahayuti coalition got the unprecedented mandate in the assembly polls. We all know it is not a people's mandate and has been achieved with the help of EVM. As a mark of protest against use of EVM in the polls, we have decided not to take oath on the first day of the session."