Maharashtra winter session to begin sans opposition leader

MUMBAI: With Shiv Sena all set to join the Devendra Fadnavis government tomorrow, the upcoming winter session of Maharashtra legislature is going to be without the Leader of Opposition in Assembly.

It will be a piquant situation as the 34-day old Fadnavis government faces the session, beginning in Nagpur on December 8, without anybody occupying that post.

Sena leader Eknath Shinde, who was named as opposition leader after the government won the trust vote, is set to be inducted in the BJP-led ministry tomorrow.

His tenure will be the shortest one in state legislature history.

"This will be the first session in the state history when there won't be any leader of opposition in the House," a legislature official said.

When asked about NCP's claim over the post, he said, "It is up to the presiding officer to give a ruling on the claim and there is no compulsion to give the ruling in a specific number of days."

NCP spokesman Nawab Malik had said yesterday that his party would formally stake the claim for the post on the eve of the winter session.

Interestingly, when Fadnavis hosts the customary tea party for opposition parties on December 7, there will be only group leaders of other parties there, if the opposition decides to attend it.

Fadnavis today announced that Sena will be joining his government tomorrow and will get 12 ministerial berths.

In the 288-member House, BJP has 121 MLAs, followed by Sena (63), Congress (42) and NCP (41).