Maharashtra: Congress picks ex-minister Vijay Wadettiwar as leader of opposition in state assembly

Vijay Wadettiwar (File Photo)

The Congress has named senior leader Vijay Wadettiwar as the leader of the opposition in the Maharashtra assembly and submitted a letter to the Speaker.

The letter was given to speaker Rahul Narwekar by a delegation of Congress leaders comprising former Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan, Legislative Party leader Balasaheb Thorat, Mumbai Congress president Varsha Gaikwad and Wadettiwar on Tuesday, Chavan tweeted.

A party functionary said Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole was in Delhi on Monday to meet senior leaders.

An OBC leader, Wadettiwar hails from Vidarbha, once a stronghold of the Congress. He had served as Relief and Rehabilitation Minister in the previous Maha Vikas Aghadi government headed by Shiv Sena.

The development assumes significance as Congress' ally Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar group) had named Jitendra Awhad as the new LoP in the assembly following a split in the party due to Ajit Pawar's rebellion last month.

The post of the leader of the opposition has been lying vacant after Ajit Pawar resigned from the position last month to join the Shiv Sena-BJP government as deputy chief minister.

The NCP had also informed Narwekar about the changes, including the selection of Awhad for the LoP's post.

The Congress staked a claim to the LoP's post after the split in NCP apparently reduced its strength in the 288-member House.

In the 2019 assembly elections in Maharashtra, the Bharatiya Janata Party won the maximum 105 seats, Shiv Sena (undivided) 56, NCP (undivided) 54, and Congress 44.

Though the Ajit Pawar faction of NCP had claimed to have the support of more than 40 MLAs, the Sharad Pawar-led group doubted this claim.

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