New Delhi (Agency): In the bustling city of Mumbai, Tuesday saw the Maharashtra Congress Legislature Party (CLP) convene an important meeting at Vidhan Bhavan. The central topic of their assembly, presided over by AICC secretary HK Patil, is expected to be the party’s ambition to obtain the influential position of Leader of Opposition (LoP) within the state Assembly.
This political opportunity was sparked by a schism within the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), which held the LoP seat until recently. Ajit Pawar, erstwhile LoP, announced his resignation last Friday and joined the alliance of Shiv Sena and BJP. Upon his transition, Pawar was designated as the deputy chief minister, accompanied by eight other newly-sworn-in NCP ministers.
The NCP, with Sharad Pawar at the helm, has assigned the vacant LoP seat to MLA Jitendra Awhad. However, Sharad Pawar confirmed on Monday that the Congress party’s claim to the post was justified. It’s important to note that the NCP holds a slightly larger presence within the 288-member Assembly with 53 MLAs, compared to Congress’ 45.
The unity of the Congress representatives is reinforced by the words of CLP leader Balasaheb Thorat, who affirmed the solidarity amongst all legislators. Almost all lawmakers were present at the strategic meeting, with only a handful delayed due to heavy monsoon downpours.
Dignitaries including Thorat, former chief ministers Ashok Chavan and Prithviraj Chavan, and the president of the state Congress unit, Nana Patole, all attended the meeting and paid their respects to Suresh Dhanokar, the recently-deceased MP from Chandrapur.
