In a first in six decades, no Leader of Opposition in Maharashtra Assembly

Shiv Sena UBT Chief Uddhav Thackeray.
| Photo Credit: EMMANUAL YOGINI

For the first time, there will be no leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Maharashtra Assembly due to the inadequate number of MLAs in opposition. This will be the first time in six decades that the Assembly will not have an LoP.

For a LoP, an opposition party should have 10% of the total strength of the Assembly, according to the law.

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With the Assembly’s strength at 288 seats, at least one opposition party must have 28 MLAs for it to be a Leader of the Opposition. In the current scenario, Congress has 16, NCP has 10, and Shiv Sena has 21 seats, which does not meet the required mandate.

The BJP-led Mahayuti alliance retained Maharashtra with a landslide victory to form the government by winning 233 out of the 288 seats, as per the final figures by the Election Commission. The Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) emerged as the largest party, bagging 132 seats, followed by Eknath Shinde led-Shiv Sena, winning 57 seats, and Deputy Chief Minister marking 41 seats in the fierce battle of 15th Maharashtra Assembly election.