For the First Time in 60 Years, Maharashtra Won’t Have a Leader of Opposition
For the First Time in 60 Years, Maharashtra Won’t Have a Leader of Opposition
For the first time in six decades, the Maharashtra Assembly will not have a Leader of the Opposition (LoP) because there are not enough MLAs in the Opposition.
As per the provisions of the Salaries and Allowances of Leaders of Opposition in the State Legislature Act, an opposition party must hold at least 10% of the total seats in the Assembly to be recognized as the Leader of the Opposition (LoP). Under the rules, the LoP post also cannot be secured based on the combined strength of the three parties even if they had a pre-poll alliance.
With the Assembly consisting of 288 seats, an opposition party needs to have at least 28 MLAs to qualify for a Leader of the Opposition. Currently, the Congress has 16 seats, the NCP has 10, and the Shiv Sena has 21, which falls short of the necessary requirement.
The BJP-led Mahayuti alliance achieved a significant victory in Maharashtra, securing 233 out of 288 seats to form the government, according to the Election Commission’s final results. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) emerged as the largest party, winning 132 seats, followed by the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena with 57 seats, and the Deputy Chief Minister’s party with 41 seats in the competitive 15th Maharashtra Assembly election.
