Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar named as leader of Opposition In Maharashtra Assembly

After Ajit Pawar's decision to join the government, the position of Leader of Opposition in the state assembly became vacant, and both the NCP and the Congress claimed the seat. The leader of the opposition is determined by the party with the largest number of members in the assembly. As per the Maha Vikas Aghadi, the Congress holds the highest number of members, and thus, the Post of Leader of Opposition has been given to the Congress. Vijay Wadettiwar has been chosen by the Congress to hold this position, as mentioned in a tweet by Legislative Council MLA Satyajit Tambe.

महाराष्ट्र विधानसभेच्या विरोधी पक्ष नेते पदी कॉंग्रेसचे नेते विजय वड्डेट्टीवार यांची निवड झाल्याबद्दल अभिनंदन, मी २०१८-१९ मध्ये युवक कॉंग्रेसचा प्रदेश अध्यक्ष असतांनाही वड्डेट्टीवार साहेब विरोधी पक्ष नेते होते, त्यावेळेस ते संघटनेला कायम मदत करायचे.

अपेक्षा आहे की, ते जबाबदार…

— Satyajeet Tambe (@satyajeettambe) August 1, 2023

The Congress is yet to make an official announcement regarding this matter. However, MLC Satyajit Tambe tweeted about it.

Before the monsoon session of the state legislature, a political earthquake struck the state as Ajit Pawar, who was previously on the opposition benches, swiftly gained power and was sworn in as the deputy chief minister. The post became vacant when the leader of the opposition joined the government, and some MLAs, including Ajit Pawar, extended their support to the government, reducing the NCP's strength in the Assembly. Consequently, the NCP couldn't claim the seat, and it has now been allocated to the Congress, as it holds the highest number of MLAs in the Maha Vikas Aghadi.

The monsoon session, which concludes this week, took place without the presence of the leader of the opposition during the initial two weeks. The extent of the leader of opposition's assertiveness in the remaining three days is yet to be observed.