The new Eknath Shinde government in Maharashtra sailed through the trust vote in the state assembly on Monday, with 164 MLAs voting in its favour and 99 MLAs siding with the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA). The MVA received eight votes less than it had in the election for the state assembly speaker a day earlier.
In a blow to the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena, one more MLA, Santosh Bangar from Marathwada, switched to the Shinde camp in the morning, reducing their numbers to 15. Besides, several opposition MLAs, including Congress veterans Ashok Chavan and Vijay Wadettiwar, did not reach on time and could not cast their vote.
A total of 263 votes were polled in the trust vote, 25 short of the strength of the House. Twenty MLAs were absent from the assembly. Of these, 11 were from the Congress, 6 from the NCP (including two who are in jail), two BJP MLAs who are unwell and one AIMIM MLA. Two SP MLAs and one AIMIM MLA abstained from voting. BJP MLA Rahul Narwekar, who was elected speaker, could not vote and one Sena MLA has expired.
Bharat Gogawale of the Shinde camp, whose appointment as Shiv Sena chief whip was approved by assembly speaker Rahul Narwekar on Sunday, petitioned the assembly speaker on Monday evening asking him to disqualify the 15 Sena legislators, including Aaditya Thackeray, who defied the whip to vote for the party line.
“They could not even get 100 votes. We are the real Shiv Sena, and this is the Shiv Sena-BJP government people had originally voted for in 2019,” said chief minister Eknath Shinde. The government will follow the Hindutva ideals of Sena founder Bal Thackeray but will work for all sections of society, he said. “We will not overturn all decisions of the previous government out of a sentiment of revenge. We will only undo decisions that did not follow norms or are against the public good.”
The battle that will follow is a legal one for control of the Sena’s legislature party. The issue of appointment of the group leader and chief whip is already in the SC, with the next hearing on July 11. Both Uddhav’s camp and Shinde’s faction had issued whips ahead of the trust vote asking MLAs to vote in the party’s favour.
BJP’s Narwekar elected Speaker
Earlier in the day, in the first major victory for the Shinde government, its nominee, BJP MLA from Colaba Rahul Narwekar, was elected as Speaker of the Maharashtra assembly on Sunday. He polled 164 votes compared to 107 votes for the MVA nominee, Shiv Sena’s Rajan Salvi. Three MLAs - two from the Samajwadi Party and one from MIM - abstained from the vote.
During Sunday’s vote, both the Shiv Sena led by Uddhav Thackeray and the Eknath Shinde faction complained that the whip issued by the party on whom to vote for, had been violated. The Shiv Sena’s complaint was brought on record by deputy speaker Narhari Zirwal, while the Shinde faction’s complaint was read out by Narwekar. The issue on who will control the Shiv Sena legislature party is set to see a legal battle.
