Rahul Narwekar is India's youngest Speaker

Mumbai: Mumbai lawyer and first-time legislator, Rahul Narwekar, 45, has been elected as the youngest Speaker of Maharashtra Legislative Assembly and also becomes the youngest ever in India to hold this august Constitutional post, here on Sunday.

Interestingly, Narwekar is married to Sarojini, the daughter of Nationalist Congress Party's Ramraje Naik-Nimbalkar, who is the Chairman of the Maharashtra Legislative Council.

Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, pointing out at the happy familial coincidence, said that now the 'relation between the Upper House and Lower House is akin to a father-in-law and son-in-law', amid cheers, as the new Speaker smiled.

Hailing from a political family, the soft-spoken but sharp legal eagle Narwekar started his career with the Shiv Sena around late-1990s, but felt stifled due to lack of leadership opportunities.

After he was denied a ticket to the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, he quit the Sena in a huff and threw his lot with the NCP, where his father-in-law was already a senior leader.

The NCP rewarded Narwekar with a ticket from Maval Lok Sabha constituency in 2014, but he came a distant third to Shiv Sena's winner Shrirang Barne and the runner-up PWP's Laxman Jagtap and was compensated as an MLC.

Ahead of the 2019 Maharashtra Assembly elections, he hopped from the NCP to the BJP, which fielded him from Colaba in South Mumbai and secured his maiden victory to the Lower House.

Barely 31 months later, Narwekar scripted history to become the youngest legislator to be elected as the 16th Speaker (since 1960) and also is now the youngest ever lawmaker to occupy the coveted top legislative post in the country.

His father, Suresh Narwekar was a BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation Municipal Corporator, his brother Makarand Narwekar is a two-term independent Municipal Corporator, and his sister-in-law Harshita Narwekar is also a BJP Municipal Corporator.