<p>Former Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, five-term legislator Suresh Warpudkar and two three-term MLAs Sangram Thopte and Amin Patel have emerged as frontrunners for the post of Speaker of Maharashtra Legislative Assembly.</p>.<p>If all goes well politically, the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government would go in for Speaker’s election on June 6, the last day of the two-day session.</p>.<p>The post of Speaker has been necessitated following the resignation of Nana Patole, who has taken over as the state Congress President.</p>.<p>Because of its internal differences within the MVA and fierce attack from the opposition BJP in the wake of cases involving Anil Deshmukh and Sanjay Rathod – decided to go slow on it, during the brief Budget Session.</p>.<p>However, with Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari reminding Thackeray again in the wake of a letter by Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis – the MVA leaders feel it is unavoidable.</p>.<p>Over the last few days, back to back meetings have been held among top leaders of Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress – including a meeting of Thackeray with NCP supremo Sharad Pawar, the chief architect of MVA.</p>.<p>During the trust vote in December 2019, the MVA secured 169 votes.</p>.<p>The BJP has 105 MLAs and has the support of 10 to 12 others.</p>.<p>“The MVA would like to maintain that number and would not take any chances,” Congress sources said.</p>.<p>However, the main concern is that the NCP has to agree on the names of Chavan, a former Chief Minister and ex-Minister of State in the PMO or Thopte, a three-time MLA from Bhor.</p>.<p>Patel, an MLA from Mumbaidevi in Mumbai, could be a strong contender. Warpudkar is from the Parbhani district.</p>.<p><strong>Check out DH latest videos:</strong></p>
<p>Former Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, five-term legislator Suresh Warpudkar and two three-term MLAs Sangram Thopte and Amin Patel have emerged as frontrunners for the post of Speaker of Maharashtra Legislative Assembly.</p>.<p>If all goes well politically, the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government would go in for Speaker’s election on June 6, the last day of the two-day session.</p>.<p>The post of Speaker has been necessitated following the resignation of Nana Patole, who has taken over as the state Congress President.</p>.<p>Because of its internal differences within the MVA and fierce attack from the opposition BJP in the wake of cases involving Anil Deshmukh and Sanjay Rathod – decided to go slow on it, during the brief Budget Session.</p>.<p>However, with Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari reminding Thackeray again in the wake of a letter by Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis – the MVA leaders feel it is unavoidable.</p>.<p>Over the last few days, back to back meetings have been held among top leaders of Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress – including a meeting of Thackeray with NCP supremo Sharad Pawar, the chief architect of MVA.</p>.<p>During the trust vote in December 2019, the MVA secured 169 votes.</p>.<p>The BJP has 105 MLAs and has the support of 10 to 12 others.</p>.<p>“The MVA would like to maintain that number and would not take any chances,” Congress sources said.</p>.<p>However, the main concern is that the NCP has to agree on the names of Chavan, a former Chief Minister and ex-Minister of State in the PMO or Thopte, a three-time MLA from Bhor.</p>.<p>Patel, an MLA from Mumbaidevi in Mumbai, could be a strong contender. Warpudkar is from the Parbhani district.</p>.<p><strong>Check out DH latest videos:</strong></p>
