The cautious Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government has put off the Assembly Speaker’s election after engaging the Raj Bhavan in yet another round of battle. Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari had told the government that he wanted to legally examine the amendment made to the election rule and refused to grant permission to hold the poll in the winter session of the legislature that ended on Tuesday.

The matter was given a temporary break by the government following an exchange of letters between the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) and the Raj Bhavan. The letters cross-examined the legislature and governor’s constitutional rights, with the CMO emphasising that the governor should accept the government’s recommendation instead of examining the legality of the change made to the rules that allow voice vote instead of a secret ballot. The governor stayed put and reiterated his objection to the amendment. The crisis had the MVA partners in a huddle. Legal advice was sought and senior leaders, including the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) boss Sharad Pawar and Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, discussed the matter.