MUMBAI: The 13th Maharashtra Legislative Assembly will go down in state history as the one without a deputy speaker for the longest gap of four years.
The BJP government led by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis assumed office on October 31, 2014, and won the trust vote on November 12.
Prior to the trust vote, BJP leader Haribhau Bagade was unanimously elected Speaker.
The Shiv Sena joined the government in December 2014. The Lower House of the state legislature has met 15 times since then, and on Monday will meet again for the 16th time for a two-week winter session.
Speaking on the absence of a deputy speaker, legislature officials said it is a Constitutional post with laid down procedures for its election.
However, these officials added, it was up to the government of the day to fill the post.
During the Sena-BJP rule between 1995-99, Sharad Motiram Tasare of Congress from Teosa Assembly constituency was the Deputy Speaker.
Later, during the 15-year rule of the Congress-NCP, the speaker's post was with the NCP while the Congress had its nominee on the deputy speaker's post.
However, of the 22 deputy speakers so far, a majority have been from the Congress party.
Gajananrao Raghunathrao Garud, who was deputy speaker between March 21, 1978, and April 5, 1979, was an Independent MLA.
Suryakant Dongre, who held the post between April 7, 1979, and June 9, 1980, belonged to the Republican Party of india (Khobragade group).
Kamal Kishore Kadam (March 1, 1985, to June 22, 1986) was from the Congress (Socialist) which at the time was headed by current NCP supremo Sharad Pawar.
Laxman Alias Anna Joshi, who was the deputy speaker from October 20, 1990, and July 3, 1991, was from the BJP while Moreshwar Termude (July 19, 1991, to March 11, 1995) was from the Janata Party.
Before the state of Maharashtra came into existence in 1960, there were five deputy speakers of the Legislative Assembly of Bombay Province, which later came to be known as the bilingual Bombay State.
The Congress' Shanmugappa Angadi was deputy speaker of the Assembly of Bombay Province from 1946 to 1952.
Deendayal Gupta, who was the deputy speaker of the bilingual state from June 20, 1957 to April 30, 1960, went on to become the first deputy speaker of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly on May 1, 1960.
He continued on the post till March 3, 1962.