A total 106 newly-elected MLAs took the oath of office on Sunday, which was the second day of the special assembly session. This follows the swearing-in of 173 MLAs on the first day, bringing the total number of legislators who have taken the oath so far to 279.
The session began at 11am and the oath-taking ceremony started with MLAs from Maha Vikas Aghadi, who had refrained from doing so on the first day event as a form of protest. State Congress president Nana Patole was the first to be sworn-in. During the formality, he held the Constitution copy in his hands, reiterating the opposition’s vow to “save the fundamentals”. Other prominent leaders to take oath included Vijay Wadettiwar, Aslam Sheikh and Jyoti Waghmare. Like Patole, they too displayed the Constitution copy.
Many MLAs paid tribute to saints and religious leaders during the ceremony. MLA Aaditya Thackeray gave a cry of ‘Jai Hind, Jai Maharashtra and Vande Mataram’ in the house. Sunil Prabhu honoured the memory of Hindutva icon Balasaheb Thackeray, while Shiv Sena MLA Murji Patel took the oath chanting ‘Jai Girnari’. Tribal area legislators like Amashya Padvi remembered their tribal deities, with many also raising slogans like ‘Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan’.
Mistake in Vikram Pachpute’s name
A clerical error occurred during the oath-taking process when the name of former minister and late MLA Babanrao Pachpute’s son, Vikram, was mistakenly listed as Vikas Pachpute. Pro-tem speaker Kalidas Kolambkar pointed out the error to the legislature secretariat, which corrected it.
Eight MLAs absent
The special session’s agenda included the oath-taking of newly-elected MLAs over two days, with the third day reserved for the Governor’s address and the election of the Assembly speaker. However, eight MLAs were absent on the second day. Jayant Patil, the NCP (SP) leader, had informed the legislature in advance that he would not attend the ceremony due to party chief Sharad Pawar’s tour of the Sangli district.
Absentees
Uttamrao Jankar
Vilas Bhumre
Varun Sardesai
Manoj Jamasutkar
Vinay Kore
Jayant Patil
Shekhar Nikam
Sunil Shelke
