Amid demand for appointment of the Leader of Opposition (LoP), Bhaskar Jadhav, Group Leader, Shiv Sena (UBT), on Monday, asserted that there was no such rule governing the selection of the LoP in the Maharashtra Legislature, contrary to popular claims by some quarters. Jadhav also produced a letter that was sent to the Secretariat of the Maharashtra Assembly almost 20 days back, seeking clarity on the issue of LoP. The Secretariat has not yet replied to the letter, he alleged. In his letter, dated November 25, 2024, Jadhav sought information from the Secretary (1) (Work) of the Legislature Secretariat about the specific rule or law that governs the selection of the LoP in Maharashtra. He demanded an immediate response, but as of today, there has been no reply from the Secretariat. “The rule for the appointment of LoP in Maharashtra is not the same as the one followed in the Lok Sabha.

 

The claim that a certain number of MLAs are required for the position is baseless,” Jadhav said on Monday. “We are still waiting for a response from the Secretariat. If there is any such rule, they should provide us with the necessary information immediately.” The issue of the LoP has gained prominence since the result of Assembly elections. Shiv Sena (UBT) has the highest number of opposition MLAs at 20, followed by Congress with 16 and NCP (SP) with 10. Given these numbers, Shiv Sena (UBT) is in a strong position to lay claim to the LoP post if the Speaker decides to formalise the appointment. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, in recent television interviews, has stated that he would not oppose the appointment of a Leader of Opposition if the Speaker permits it.

 

“If the Speaker decides to allow any name for the post of LoP, we will not stand in the way,” Fadnavis remarked. When asked, Anant Kalse former Principal Secretary, Maharashtra Legislature said that when Dadasaheb Mavalankar was the Speaker of the Lok Sabha from 1952 to 1956, he established a rule that the LoP would be appointed from the party that has at least 10 per cent of the members in the Lok Sabha. This rule is applicable to the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly as well, he added.

 

 

While the churning continues over the appointment of the Leader of Opposition (LoP), Shiv Sena (UBT) has not staked a claim to the post. As the party with the highest number of MLAs in the Maha Vikas Aghadi, it could have staked claim to the post. However, the party has not submitted a formal letter to the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly for the post.