The Speaker of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly, Rahul Narwekar, is expected to deliver his verdict in the Shiv Sena MLAs' disqualification case on Wednesday afternoon. The decision is anticipated to have significant implications for the Eknath Shinde government.
Shinde had rebelled along with 34 MLAs on June 20, 2022, against the leadership of then-Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray. Ten days later, on June 30, he was sworn in as the chief minister, with BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis as the deputy chief minister and Rahul Narwekar as the Speaker. On July 4, the Shinde government secured a vote of confidence with 164 members backing it in a house of 288 members. The Thackeray faction challenged this, insisting on the disqualification of the defectors.
Meanwhile, Sanjay Raut of the Shiv Sena (UBT) criticized a meeting between Narvekar and Shinde, stating that it was immoral for the "accused" (Shinde) to meet the Speaker on the eve of the verdict.
