Ahead of the start of the monsoon session of the Maharashtra Legislature on Monday, all the Opposition parties on Sunday decided to nominate Vijay Namdevrao Wadettiwar as the new Leader of Opposition in the State Assembly.
Wadettiwar will replace erstwhile Congress leader Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil, who resigned from the Congress early this month and was inducted into the Maharashtra Cabinet on Sunday.
“Leaders of all the Opposition parties met State Assembly Speaker Haribhau Bagade and submitted a letter, nominating Wadettiwar as their joint choice for the post as the new Leader of Opposition,” Congress’ newly appointed deputy leader in the Assembly Naseem Khan said.
With a strength of 41 members, the Congress is the single largest Opposition party in the 288-member State Assembly. The NCP is the second largest Opposition party with a strength of 39 MLAs in the Assembly.
An MLA from Brahmapuri, Wadettiwar has been rewarded with the LoP’s post for saving the Congress from a total wipe-out in the May 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said that the State Government would table 28 bills —including 15 pending bills — in the monsoon session of the State Legislature.
The monsoon session, being held on the heels of a spectacular performance put up the ruling BJP-Shiv Sena alliance in the Lok Sabha polls, is the last session of the State Legislature before Maharashtra goes in for the Assembly polls in October 2019.