Nana Patole resigns as Maharashtra Assembly Speaker, likely to take over as state Congress chief

Mumbai: Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Speaker Nana Patole, tipped to be the next chief of the state unit of the Congress, resigned from his post on Thursday.Legislature sources said Patole handed over his resignation to deputy speaker Narhari Zhirwal.Patole, the MLA from Sakoli in Bhandara district, is likely to replace revenue minister Balasaheb Thorat as state Congress president soon, according to party sources.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.The budget session of the state legislature is to begin from 1 March.