Manikrao Thakre elected unopposed as deputy chairman of Council

Manikrao Thakre, a senior Congress legislator from Vidarbha, was on Friday unanimously elected deputy chairman of the state Legislative Council after the BJP nominee, Vijay ‘Bhai’ Girkar, withdrew his candidacy at the last minute.

Both Mr Thakre and Mr Girkar had filed their nominations for the elections on Thursday. But the ruling and Opposition parties agreed to maintain the democratic conditions of the Upper House by not holding elections. This resulted in Mr Girkar withdrawing his candidacy, paving the way for Mr Thakre’s victory. The BJP, apparently, did not have adequate numbers to shine through.

However, there was some drama after the elections were announced by Council chairman Ramraje Nimbalkar. Drawing attention to congratulatory messages to Mr Thakre in a newspaper on Friday, parliamentary affairs minister Girish Bapat said, “This is disrespect of the House and also a violation of the model code of conduct.”

However, replying to him, Mr Nimbalkar said that, as per his knowledge, there was no model code of conduct for these elections.

After Mr Thakre was announced as the winner, leaders of the Legislative Council heaped praise on him. Congratulating Mr Thakre on his win, Mr Nimbalkar said, “I consider myself fortunate that I have had the opportunity of working with a colleague who has the capability of leading in trying times.”

Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis also commended Mr Thakre for his sporting nature and said that it would help him defuse any crisis-like situation between the ruling and Opposition parties in the House. He also took potshots at the frosty relations between the Congress and NCP, which had supported Mr Thakre for the post.

“I hope luck favours him and he becomes the chairman in the future,” Mr Fadnavis said.