Yet another political chapter will unfold on Sunday when the Bharatiya Janata Party-Shinde Sena combine fights it out against the Maha Vikas Aghadi for the Assembly speaker’s post. The election, scheduled to be held on the floor of the House, which will sit in a special session, has already been mired in legality because the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena has issued a whip to all its 55 MLAs, including rebels, to vote for their candidate Rajan Salvi. 

The BJP has fielded a lawyer cum law maker Rahul Narvekar for the speaker’s post. In addition to its own MLAs and independents, the BJP is banking on the 39 Sena rebel MLAs, who have claimed to be the original Shiv Sena legislative party. The Shinde Sena hadn’t issued a whip till Saturday evening, but it was very clear it wanted the 16 MLAs in the Uddhav camp to vote for Narvekar or else face action. It remains to be seen whether the polling will be open or if there would be a secret ballot for both speaker’s poll and majority vote. Whips to be issued by all recognised parties apply to the participants of both events. Independents act on their own.