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Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Rahul Narwekar was on Monday elected unopposed as the speaker of the 15th Maharashtra legislative assembly.
Narwekar filed his nomination papers on Sunday and was elected unopposed as the opposition alliance Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) decided not to put up a contest.
The BJP leader, who was the speaker in the 14th assembly for two and a half years, was re-elected from the Colaba assembly seat in Mumbai in the November 20 assembly elections.
The speaker's election will be followed by a floor test to prove the new government's strength. Governor CP Radhakrishnan will then address the joint session of both Houses of the state legislature.
During his tenure as Maharashtra assembly speaker, Narwekar had ruled that the party led by Eknath Shinde was the legitimate and real Shiv Sena after a split in the Bal Thackeray-founded party.
He also held that the faction under Ajit Pawar was the real Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), which was founded by Sharad Pawar.
In the recently concluded Maharashtra assembly elections, the Mahayuti coalition put up a stunning show, winning over 230 of the 288 seats, while the MVA could collectively manage only 46 seats.
The party positions in the 15th assembly are: Mahayuti -- the BJP 132 MLAs; the Shiv Sena 57; the NCP 41; the Jan Surabaya Shakti Party 2; the Rashtriya Yuva Swabhiman Party 1; the Rashtriya Samaj Paksh 1; Independents 2; the Rajarshi Shahu Vikas Aghadi 1.
Opposition -- the Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray 20 MLAs; the Congress 16; the NCP-Sharadchandra Pawar 10; the Communist Party of India-Marxist 1; the Peasants and Workers Party 1; the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen 1; the Samajwadi Party 2.