Amid moves and counter-moves by Sharad Pawar-led NCP and the Congress, Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar on Monday made it clear that it is his prerogative to appoint the Leader of the Opposition.
In the 2019 Vidhan Sabha polls, the NCP won 54 seats and the Congress won 44 while the Shiv Sena won 56.
As of now, the NCP has 53 seats in the Assembly while the Congress has 45, based on the results of by-elections.
The exact number of MLAs with Sharad Pawar after Ajit Pawar's rebellion are not yet known. As far as the Shiv Sena is concerned, 40 MLAs are with Eknath Shinde while 16 are with Uddhav Thackeray.
Hours after Ajit Pawar walked to the BJP-led ruling camp after resigning as the Leader of Opposition, state NCP President Jayant Patil appointed three-time MLA Jitendra Awhad as the Leader of the Opposition and the NCP’s Chief Whip.
“The Leader of the Opposition is to be appointed by the Speaker. It is the prerogative of the Speaker based on precedence and rules. I have to see the strength of the opposition parties and will have to consider all this,” Narwekar told reporters on Monday.
“I will have to see who the opposition is and who is in the government. Political parties cannot appoint the Leader of the Opposition suo motu, there is a process to be followed,” he added.
Asked about this, Jayant Patil said, “Nine MLAs have left, all of the rest are with the NCP. We don’t want to compete; we will come to a mutual decision with the Congress. If we see that our numbers are lesser than the Congress, then there can be a Leader of the Opposition from that party, but let there be clarity first…perhaps we will have to wait for a few more days.”
State Congress President Nana Patole said that the Leader of the Opposition has to be decided collectively by the three parties in the Maha Vikas Aghadi.
Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar said that who the Leader of the Opposition would be totally depends on the numbers. “It will be decided on the basis of the numbers…yes…the NCP can claim the position, but if they do not have numbers, then there is no alternative but the Congress," he added.