Shiv Sena wants Maharashtra Legislative Council’s Leader of Opposition post

Although the Shiv Sena is going through a crisis, it is also keen to have a party member become the Leader of the Opposition in the Maharashtra Legislative Council.

Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray has not yet said anything on this issue formally, sources said that the party was keen to get the post.

After the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government was toppled by Shiv Sena’s Eknath Shinde, with the help of Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP's) Devendra Fadnavis, Nationalist Congress Party’s Ajit Pawar was named Leader of the Opposition in Maharashtra Legislative Assembly.

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The 288-member Assembly—which at present only has 287 members—has the BJP heading the chart with 106 seats, followed by Shiv Sena (55), NCP (53) and Congress (44) and Independents/Others (29).

In the Lower House, the Shiv Sena is divided into two factions—40 led by Chief Minister Shinde and 15 that still owe allegiance to Thackeray.

Given the arithmetic, Pawar, who is a former four-time Deputy Chief Minister and seven-time MLA, was the right choice for the Leader of Opposition in Assembly, as the NCP commanded the maximum seats in Opposition benches.

With the NCP supremo Sharad Pawar saying that the MVA allies must contest the ensuing polls together, his focus was clear on the Opposition unity.

The 78-member Maharashtra Legislative Council currently has 12 vacancies from the Governor's quota. Total vacancies, as of now, in the Upper House is now 16. The BJP has 24 members, followed by Shiv Sena (11), NCP (10), Congress (10), Peasants and Workers Party (1), Rashtriya Samaj Paksha (1) and Independents (5).

Any one of these Shiv Sena Members of Legislative Councils—Sachin Ahir, Aamshya Padavi, Neelam Gore, Anil Parab and Mainisha Kayande (elected by Assembly), Sunil Shinde, Ambadas Danve, Narendra Darade and Viplove Bajoria and Dushyant Chaturvedi (elected from Local Authorities' constituencies) and Vilas Potnis (elected from Graduates' constituency)—can fit the bill of the Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council.