MUMBAI: Former Finance and Energy Minister and senior Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Dilip-Walse Patil was elected Speaker of the 12th Maharashtra Legislative Assembly unopposed on Wednesday. He has been a member of the Legislative Assembly since 1990 and represents Ambegaon constituency in Pune.
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Eknath Khadse was elected the new Leader of Opposition. The party won this seat from alliance partner Shiv Sena, which now has fewer legislators than the BJP.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra governor SC Jamir said his government was committed to maintaining the “communal as well as linguistic harmony” and any attempt to disrupt this on racial and ethnic grounds would be dealt with firmly.
In his address to the Assembly on the final day of a three-day special session, Jamir said the new Democratic Front government aims to attract investment of at least Rs 250,000 crore in the next five years, which is expected to provide employment to 500,000 people. “Maharashtra continues to lead the country in industrial development and has attracted many mega projects,” Jamir said.
