A no-confidence motion was passed against Maharashtra Legislative Council Chairman Shivajirao Deshmukh on Monday. With 45 members of the Council voting in his favour and 22 against him, Deshmukh lost the post that he had been holding for 11 years.

The no-confidence motion was moved by the NCP against the senior Congress leader, who was first elected as Legislative Council Chairman in 1996. In ousting Deshmukh, 12 BJP legislators threw their weight behind rival NCP. However, BJP ally Shiv Sena abstained from voting.

The seeds of the rift between the NCP and Deshmukh were sown in the 2014 winter session of the State Legislature, where the NCP had sought a faster appointment to the position of Leader of Opposition in the council. Deshmukh had been in no hurry to make the announcement.

The NCP had moved the motion last week, saying the Chairman has lost the confidence of the Council. The decision to admit the NCP’s motion for voting was taken at the Business Advisory Committee of the legislature.

Senior Shiv Sena leader Ramads Kadam said considering Deshmukh’s age, removing him from the chair would be against “moral principles”. When he was elected to the chair, it was the NCP that had made long speeches praising him, the Sena pointed out.

With Deshmukh being voted out, NCP’s former minister and Prince of Phaltan in western Maharashtra, Ramraje Nimbalkar, is likely to be elected as new Chairman. His election will take place during the ongoing budget session.

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