SAI

Senior advocate Devadatt Kamat, representing Shiv Sena leader Subhash Desai, mentioned the matter before a bench of Justices Indira Banerjee and J.K. Maheshwari and said that they seek listing of the fresh plea along with other pending petitions which are scheduled for hearing on July 11. "We are challenging the appointment of Eknath Shinde as chief minister," Kamat said.

The move has come as a jolt to the former CM Uddhav Thackeray, ahead of the upcoming civic elections in Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation and other major cities in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region and the state. The development came a day after 67 ex-corporators of Thane Municipal Corporation met Shinde - who was also the Guardian Minister of Thane in the erstwhile MVA regime - and pledged to work together under his leadership for the progress of the city adjoining Mumbai.

The move has come as a jolt to the former Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, ahead of the upcoming civic elections in Thane where the party has ruled for many years.

However, Gogawale also said that the notice has not been issued to Worli MLA and ex-Minister Aaditya Thackeray -- the son of former Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray -- as a sign of arespect for Balasaheb Thackeray'. Earlier, prior to the Speaker's election and the House trust vote, Chief Minister Shinde and his group had cautioned the Shiv Sena MLAs that they could face action for defying Gogawale's whip.

In his maiden address to the Assembly after winning the crucial vote of confidence - 164 in favour and 99 against - Shinde recalled that the recent political happenings did not occur in just one day and was the culmination of many past instances when he was short-changed. "There are many people here, like (Shiv Sena MLA) Sunil Prabhu, and others who have witnessed how I was treated and suppressed for long," said Shinde, at times becoming emotional and sad.

Singhvi contended that the Speaker has no jurisdiction to recognise the whip nominated by Shinde as Thackeray is still the head of Shiv Sena political party. He said, "Speaker cannot recognise the whip...the party recognises the whip". He added that earlier Shinde group had challenged the Shiv Sena official whip Sunil Prabhu, but the court declined to pass any interim order.

This is the second big legislative victory for the Shinde government -- sworn-in on June 30 along with Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis -- in the past two days. On Sunday, the alliance candidate and BJP's advocate Rahul Narwekar was elected the new Speaker, trouncing the Maha Vikas Alliance's Shiv Sena nominee Rajan Salvi with a comfortable margin.

The trust vote for the Shinde-led government -- sworn-in on June 30 after the collapse of the 31-month-old Maha Vikas Aghadi regime -- comes on the second day of the two-day Special Session of the Assembly convened by Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari on July 3-4 Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has expressed confidence that the ruling alliance will easily win the House trust as it has 166 MLAs on its side.

Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said the ruling alliance will easily win the house trust as it has 166 MLAs on its side, comprising the BJP, the Shiv Sena's rebel group which broke away on June 20, besides independents and smaller parties' legislators - sufficient to clear the midway mark of 145 (in the 288-member Lower House).

A Bharatiya Janata Party MLA from Colaba, Narwekar was elected to the high office at a Special Assembly Session, trouncing his sole Maha Vikas Aghadi-backed Shiv Sena nominee Rajan Salvi. Interestingly, Narwekar is married to Sarojini, the daughter of Nationalist Congress Party's Ramraje Naik-Nimbalkar, who is the Chairman of the Maharashtra Legislative Council.