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Mumbai: After the split in the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), the Congress has become the party with the highest number of MLAs in Maharashtra’s opposition benches.
Speaking to ThePrint, Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Balasaheb Thorat said the Leader of Opposition post should now go to them.
“The LoP position goes to the party that has the highest number of MLAs and so the Leader of Opposition should be from us,” Thorat said.
Thorat made this observation after the NCP named Jitendra Awhad as the Leader of Opposition since its previous one, Ajit Pawar, joined the BJP-Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde) government on Sunday.
The NCP supremo Sharad Pawar’s nephew took eight more MLAs with him, thereby reducing NCP’s numbers in the Assembly from 53 to 44. The Congress has 45.
Sharad Pawar agreed to the Congress’s demand Monday while attending an event in Satara’s Karad. “The Congress is justified in claiming the LoP’s post,” he told his supporters.
The Congress now sees itself in an advantageous position after the splits in its Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) allies NCP and Shiv Sena.
“Our position instead of theirs is now stronger in the MVA,” party sources told ThePrint.
“Yes, it is an advantage for us… so there is no question of any bargaining. We will get what is rightfully ours,” Thorat said.
The leader also vehemently denied rumours that some Congressmen might leave the party. “Our MLAs are all together. We were 44 earlier, now we are 45. Our efforts will be to work for the MVA… the Congress itself will perform well in the state,” he told ThePrint.
On Monday morning, Sharad Pawar visited the memorial of Maharashtra’s first chief minister Yashwantrao Chavan in Karad amid a show of strength. He was accompanied by Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan to drive in the point that the NCP and Congress were together.
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