Jitendra Awhad, the MLA of Sharad Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party (NCP-SP), on Monday demanded that the Leader of Opposition (LoP) post be rotated among the constituents of the Maha Vikas Aghadi - Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT).
He gave the formula of holding the LoP post for 18 months by each party. However, the MVA allies are yet to formally stake claim to the post of LoP in the Maharashtra assembly. Awhad argued that the three parties holding the post by turns will help each constituent represent itself in the state assembly, whose budget session started in Mumbai on Monday.
"We are saying that the LoP post should be rotated among three parties for 18 months each so that every party gets a chance to represent in the state assembly. We have to stick around together as a formidable opposition. This is NCP (SP)'s stand," the former state minister said.
He asserted that the senior leaders of all three parties will sit together and take a call on this. The MLA from Thane city, however, stressed that the first chance to occupy the post should be given to the Sena (UBT) as it has the highest number of seats (20) among the opposition parties in the 288-member assembly.
Last week, Sanjay Raut, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP, said that his party will stake claim to the LoP post in the assembly. The MVA suffered a crushing defeat in the assembly polls held last year. In the state assembly, the Shiv Sena (UBT) has 20 MLAs in the lower house, followed by the Congress (16) and NCP (SP) (10). So far, none of them has formally staked claim to the post.
As per precedents, any opposition party has to have at least 10 per cent of the total seats to stake claim to the LoP post. In Maharashtra, it is 28. "But there is no such law or provision stated in the Constitution," said Shiv Sena UBT MLA Bhaskar Jadhav.
(With PTI Inputs)
