The Maharashtra Congress has scheduled a meeting of its legislators on Tuesday, during which discussions regarding staking a claim to the post of Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly are expected to take place, according to a party leader.
The meeting will be attended by All India Congress Committee secretary HK Patil.
The vacancy for the Leader of the Opposition arose after NCP leader Ajit Pawar resigned on Friday and subsequently joined the Shiv Sena-BJP Government as the Deputy Chief Minister. Eight NCP MLAs were sworn in as ministers.
Notably, the Nationalist Congress Party, led by Sharad Pawar, appointed MLA Jitendra Awhad as the Leader of the Opposition.
“Tomorrow, the Congress has convened a meeting of its legislators where discussions are likely to take place on staking a claim to the position of the Leader of the Opposition,” said Congress Legislature Party leader Balasaheb Thorat.
Sharad had earlier stated the Congress, as a constituent of the MVA alliance, is justified in claiming the post of Leader of the Opposition.
Thorat emphasised that the NCP can only appoint their group leader in the Legislative Assembly.
Senior Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan expressed confidence that appointing the new Leader of the Opposition would not be problematic once they determine the number of MLAs who remain with the NCP after the split in the legislature party.
In the 288-member Assembly, the Congress currently has 45 MLAs.