Summary:
Miffed at the BJP and trying to assert itself to quell murmurs of discontent in the ranks, the Shiv Sena is now demanding that the position of the deputy speaker of Lok Sabha be given to the party. In that vein, the Sena is pitching MP Bhavana Gawali Patil from Yavatmal-Washim as its nominee. On Thursday, Sena president Uddhav Thackeray and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut staked the party's claim to the position when speaking in Kolhapur. Raut, who is also the executive editor of the party mouthpiece Saamana, said the deputy speakers post was not their "demand, but a natural right." "The Shiv Sena must get this post…we have 18 MPs in the Lok Sabha and we are number two in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA)," he said..