The special three-day session of the Maharashtra Assembly began on Saturday with a controversy as members of the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) decided to boycott the oath-taking ceremony. The MVA, which includes the Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT), and NCP (SP), accused the ruling coalition of misusing electronic voting machines (EVMs) in the recent state elections.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray justified the boycott, stating that doubts linger among the public about whether the electoral mandate was truly democratic. Speaking to reporters at Vidhan Bhavan, he said, “When a government wins by a landslide, there are usually celebrations. But in this case, people are questioning whether the victory was handed to them by voters or engineered through the EVMs and Election Commission.” The opposition is also protesting against recent incidents in Markadwadi village, Solapur district, where locals demanded a re-poll using traditional ballot papers.

Meanwhile, leaders from the ruling alliance, including Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Deputy CM Eknath Shinde, and Deputy CM Ajit Pawar, participated in the oath-taking ceremony. The ruling government dismissed the allegations as baseless, accusing the MVA of undermining public trust in the electoral process. The political standoff highlights the deepening divide between the two blocs and raises questions about the future functioning of the assembly.