Rahul Narwekar, Speaker of the Maharashtra Assembly, is anticipated to call 54 Shiv Sena MLAs for a physical hearing over the disqualification petitions filed against them following a party split in the coming two weeks.
The Eknath Shinde-led Sena’s whip Bharat Gogawale started disqualification procedures against the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena MLAs in 2022.
Sunil Prabhu, the whip for the Thackeary group, had also started similar legal action against the lawmakers who belonged to the Shinde faction.
40 Shiv Sena MLAs from the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena fraction, according to officials, have not yet given their thorough responses to the disqualification notifications sent to them. This week marks the conclusion of the extension they were given.
14 MLAs from the Uddhav faction, according to officials, have already filed their thorough responses.
The Speaker will carefully review the responses from the Shinde group after receiving them before taking the subsequent action of scheduling a hearing with the MLAs.
This hearing is most likely to happen the next week or during the next two weeks.
Uddhav Thackeray and Shinde, the leaders of the two Sena groups, may also be called to a meeting by Narwekar to settle the question of which group has the right to name a whip in July 2022.
An insider said that the Speaker would first look at the composition of the faction that had 40 MLAs when Uddhav Thackeray was leader in June and July of last year.
Prior to the hearing itself, the MLAs’ responses will be examined.
The Shinde group’s MLAs had asked for an extension of time to respond to the notice, citing the legislative body’s monsoon session as justification. They asked for a two-week extension, and the Speaker granted it.
Prior to this, Narwekar had sent letters to 54 legislators about the disqualification claims made against them, including 14 from the Shiv Sena led by Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray and 40 from the Shiv Sena led by Eknath Shinde.
The Sena (UBT) MLAs have emphasised the Supreme Court ruling in the disqualification issue, arguing that the Shinde faction’s selection of Bharat Gogawale as the party whip was declared unlawful. In their reaction, the Sena (UBT) referenced the Supreme Court’s ruling.
