Maharashtra monsoon session: Sharad Pawar-led NCP faction seeks sitting arrangement in Opposition benches

Jitendra Awhad of NCP  has written to the Maharashtra Assembly speaker seeking separate sitting arrangement for members of the Ajit Pawar  camp and the rest of MLAs of the party for the legislature session beginning Monday, reported news agency PTI. 

According to PTI, in a letter addressed to Speaker Rahul Narwekar on Sunday, Jitendra Awhad said except for the nine MLAs- including Ajit Pawar- who have joined the government, the NCP is part of the opposition."Except for the nine MLAs who were sworn in, the sitting arrangement for others should be made separately. The NCP is in the opposition and we want to sit in the opposition," Awhad said, reported PTI. 

Before Ajit Pawar and eight other MLAs joined the Shiv Sena-BJP government earlier this month, the NCP had 53 MLAs in the 288-member Assembly. In the first meeting held by Ajit Pawar in Mumbai post the split in the party, 35 MLAs of NCP and five of the eight MLCs had marked their presence. However, the exact number of MLAs backing the Ajit Pawar camp is not known.Meanwhile, The Opposition camp including Shiv Sena (UBT), Congress, and the NCP (Sharad Pawar group) on Sunday boycotted the customary tea party hosted by the Maharashtra government on the eve of the state legislature's monsoon session, starting Monday.The tea party was attended by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Dy CM Devendra Fadnavis, and other Cabinet colleagues, including newly-inducted Deputy CM Ajit Pawar of NCP and ministers from his camp.