NCP Leader Dilip Walse Patil is pro tem speaker of Maharashtra assembly

Mumbai, Nov 29: The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MLA Dilip Walse Patil was appointed as Pro tem Speaker of the Maharashtra assembly on Friday ahead of the floor test of the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi government.

Ambegaon MLA Patil, serving his seventh term as legislator, replaced the BJP's Kalidas Kolambkar, who was appointed as pro-tem Speaker earlier when the MLAs were administered oath.

Born 30 October 1956, Dilip Walse-Patil hails from Ambegaon, Maharashtra, and a six-time Member of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly.

He is currently serving his seventh term as a member of the Maharashtra Assembly after winning the 2019 polls.

He is the former Speaker of Maharashtra Legislative Assembly from 24 October 2019 till November 2024.

He formerly headed the Ministry of Finance and Planning, Energy Ministry, Higher and Technical Education Ministry, and Medical Education Ministry, all as a Cabinet Minister from 1999-2009.

He is currently serving as the President of National Federation of Cooperative Sugar Factories Limited (NFCSF).

Thackeray, who is also the Shiv Sena president, was sworn-in as the chief minister on Thursday evening and hours later, presided over his government's first cabinet meeting. Besides Thackeray, six other ministers - two each from the Sena, the Congress and the NCP - also took oath.

Thackeray on Thursday, 28 November, held his first cabinet meet and said that interests of farmers will be his government's priority.

The Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government of the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress alliance may face floor test in the Assembly on Saturday.

The floor test is "most likey" to be held on Saturday, the Vidhan Bhawan sources told PTI. Governor B K Koshyari has asked Thackeray to prove majority by December 3.