Members of the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) took their oaths as MLAs in the newly constituted Maharashtra assembly on Sunday, following a boycott of the ceremony the previous day. The opposition had refused to participate in the oath-taking on Saturday, the first day of a special three-day assembly session, citing concerns over the alleged misuse of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) during the recent state elections.
Prominent opposition leaders, including Nana Patole, Vijay Wadettiwar, and Amit Deshmukh of the Congress, Jitendra Awhad of the NCP (SP), and Aaditya Thackeray of the Shiv Sena (UBT), took the oath as the assembly resumed on Sunday.
The opposition’s fresh protest on Saturday was given a new impetus by what happened in Markadwadi village of the Solapur district’s Malshiras assembly constituency. Local residents are demanding re-election using ballot papers and there have been curfews and arrests in the area, which the opposition also added to its list of complaints.
