Mumbai, March 16 (IANS): Maharashtra legislative council chairman Shivajirao Deshmukh of the Congress lost a no-confidence motion brought against him on Monday.
The Nationalist Congress Party had brought the motion against the Congress leader.
The strength of the council is 78. While 45 members voted for the motion, 22 voted against it.
NCP's Ramraje Naik-Nimbalkar may be elected the new chairman in the next couple of days.
The Bharatiya Janata Party supported the NCP, while the Shiv Sena took a neutral stand and abstained from voting.
"We supported the NCP for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of Congress-mukt Bharat," Revenue Minister Eknathrao Khadse told reporters.
Shiv Sena spokesperson Neelam Gorhe said: "Our stand was very clear... since the BJP went with the NCP, it should not appear that we are going with the Congress. We took a principled stand."