New Maharashtra Assembly special session begins today; 288 MLAs to take oath, Speaker election on agenda

Mumbai: The three-day special session of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly is scheduled to begin on Saturday with the swearing-in of newly-elected MLAs and the election of a new Speaker for the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly.
The election for the Speaker is expected to take place shortly after, as the Assembly gears up for the winter session in Nagpur from December 16 to 21.
This session will serve as a platform to set the tone for the legislative agenda of the newly-formed Assembly in Maharashtra.
Senior BJP MLA Kalidas Sulochana Kolambkar was sworn in as the pro-tem Speaker of the Assembly by Maharashtra Governor CP Radhakrishnan on Friday, a day ahead of the three-day special session of the Assembly.
Ahead of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly's special session, newly elected MLAs addressed the media, vowing to focus on the development of their constituencies and reaffirming their commitment to advancing developmental initiatives.
Speaking to the media here today, Shiv Sena leader Uday Samant said, "15 days ago, the 288 MLAs who were elected in the assembly elections, their oath-taking ceremony is being held today in the Vidhan Bhavan. This is a 3-day session and I think the election of the Speaker of the Assembly is also going to take place in it. All three leaders will sit and decide when the cabinet will be expanded."
"Who is to be made a minister or not is actually the call of the Chief Minister. CM will sit with both DCMs and make a decision on that. Who has said that we want Home Ministry? CM and DCMs will decide on the portfolios," added Samant.
Shiv Sena MLA Murji Patel said, "Today is the first day of the three-day Special session of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly. The elected MLAs will take oath today...I will work for the development of my constituency."
Shiv Sena MLA Ashok Dharmaraj Patil said, "I am very happy as the people from the Bhandup West assembly constituency have again elected me. I will continue to work for the development of Bhandup West assembly constituency."
Speaking about the special session of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly, BJP MLA Manisha Chaudhary said, "I thank the public for electing me for the third time. I will continue to work for the development of my constituency."
Earlier in the day, newly elected Shiv Sena MLA Amol Dhondiba Khatal also arrived at the Vidhan Bhavan and paid his respects by bowing in front of the building on the first day of the special session of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly on Saturday.
Speaking to ANI, Amol Khatal said, "I thank the people of Sangamner Assembly constituency for electing me. Vidhan Bhavan is like a temple for me and I want to learn something from everyone. I will work to resolve the issues of water, and unemployment among others."
The Maharashtra Legislative Assembly is the lower house of the bicameral legislature of Maharashtra state in western India. It consists of 288 members directly elected from single-seat constituencies.
Meanwhile, Devendra Fadnavis was sworn in as Maharashtra Chief Minister at the Azad Maidan in Mumbai on Thursday.
Two deputy chief ministers, NCP leader Ajit Pawar and Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde were sworn in at the ceremony in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The Maharashtra Assembly Election 2024 witnessed a decisive victory for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Mahayuti alliance, securing a landslide win with 235 seats. The results marked a significant milestone for the BJP, which emerged as the single-largest party with 132 seats.
The Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party also made notable gains, with 57 and 41 seats, respectively.
While, the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) suffered a major setback with Congress winning just 16 seats. Its alliance partner, Shiv Sena (UBT), won 20 seats, while the NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) secured only 10 seats.