Maharashtra Congress has staked claim on the Leader of Opposition (LoP) post in the state Assembly, its legislative party leader Balasaheb Thorat said Sunday.
The LoP post has been lying vacant since July 2 after its previous occupant and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar chose to resign and joined the Eknath Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis government as the second Deputy Chief Minister. He had claimed the support of over 40 MLAs.
“As per the rule, the party with the highest number of MLAs on Opposition benches gets to appoint the Leader of Opposition. Based on that, the Congress will have its LoP. The name will be finalised from Delhi and it will be announced soon,” Thorat said. When asked about the high command’s choice for the post, Thorat said the decision will be conveyed by evening.
Following the rebellion within the Shiv Sena led by Eknath Shinde, the NCP with 53 MLAs became the largest Opposition party in the Assembly in June 2022. Based on numbers, NCP leader Ajit Pawar then became the Leader of Opposition. However, after his decision to join the government, the post has been vacant and the Congress with 45 MLAs is now the largest party on Opposition benches.
According to sources, the Congress is planning to appoint a new and young face to which all seniors in the party have agreed.
