Maha assembly Speaker resigns from post

MAHARASHTRA: Maharashtra legislative assembly Speaker Nana Patole, likely to be the next chief of the state unit of the Congress, resigned from his post on Thursday, people familiar with the matter said. Patole, the MLA from Sakoli in Bhandara district, is likely to replace revenue minister Balasaheb Thorat as state Congress president soon, according to party leaders aware of the developments. The Congress shares power with the Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party in Maharashtra. A delegation of Congress ministers, headed by Thorat, had recently met the party leadership in Delhi.