Mumbai: First-time BJP legislator Rahul Narvekar was on Sunday elected Speaker of the Maharashtra Assembly, winning 164 votes in an election held via head count. His opponent Shiv Sena MLA and Uddhav Thackeray loyalist Rajan Salvi won 107 votes.
Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis were among those who voted.
The Samajwadi Party (SP) abstained from voting. AIMIM MLAs also abstained from voting.
After the voting, the Deputy Speaker said that Shiv Sena MLAs had voted against the whip.
Narwekar is the son-in-law of senior NCP leader Ramraje Naik-Nimbalkar, who is also chairman and speaker of the Maharashtra Legislative Council.
He joined the BJP before the 2019 Maharashtra Assembly polls. He won the Assembly elections from Colaba.
