Cong leaders meet CM, speaker over vacant LoP posts in assembly and council

Mumbai, Sep 9 (PTI) Maharashtra Congress leaders on Tuesday met Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and legislative assembly speaker Rahul Narwekar, seeking an early decision on filling the vacant posts of leaders of opposition in both houses of the state legislature.

The Congress is eyeing the LoP post in the council, after the term of Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Ambadas Danve ended last month.

It is supporting the Sena (UBT) for the post in the assembly, lying vacant since Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar's term expired with the November 2024 assembly polls.

Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Wadettiwar, CWC member Balasaheb Thorat and Amin Patel met Fadnavis in the Mantralaya (secretariat) and Narwekar in the Vidhan Bhavan.

Later, talking to reporters, Thorat said the post of LoP is important in a democracy.

"We met the CM with a request to fill the posts and discussed the prevailing administration situation with him," he said.

Waddetiwar said the chief minister was positive as per discussions the Congress delegation had with him.

"We met legislative council chairman Ram Shinde and even Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray yesterday. It is not good that both the posts are vacant. We completed the process of giving a letter and meeting the authorities concerned," he said.

The post of LoP in the Lower House has not been filled since the new assembly was formed in December 2024, as the Opposition's tally fell to less than 50 in the 288-member House.

The Sena (UBT), having 20 MLAs, the highest among the opposition parties, had already staked a claim for the LoP's post in the assembly.

In the 78-member legislative council, the Congress has 7 members, Sena (UBT) 6, and NCP (SP) 3. Three legislators are Independents.

The BJP has 22 MLCs, the Shiv Sena, led by Eknath Shinde, has 7, and the NCP, headed by Ajit Pawar, has 8. Currently, there are 22 vacancies. PTI MR GK