Newly-Elected Maharashtra Assembly May Not Have Leader Of Opposition

The opposition alliance suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of the BJP-led ruling alliance in Maharashtra. But what could add insult to this injury is if the figures remain more or less the same till the last round of counting in all the seats as then no party in the Maha Vikas Aghadi or MVA - Shiv Sena (UBT), Congress and NCP (SP) - will be eligible for the post of the Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the newly elected Maharashtra Legislative Assembly.

A party with 10 percent of the 288 seats or 29 seats can claim the post. However, all of the MVA parties are at the moment falling short of the mark, as per the legislative rules.

According to the latest Election Commission figures at 6pm, the Shiv Sena (UBT) won 13 seats and was leading in 7, Congress won 6 and was ahead in 9 while NCP (SP) bagged six seats and was leading in 4.

Even though the opposition alliance will achieve the required number if all their winning seats were added but the combined strength of parties is not considered for the post of the Leader of Opposition, as per the rules.

So, given the current circumstances, the 15th Maharashtra Legislative Assembly may function without the LoP, similar to the 16th Lok Sabha which did not have a Leader of Opposition. The states of Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Manipur, Nagaland and Sikkim also don't have anyone in the post because of the lack of opposition parties with at least 10 percent seats.

The BJP-Shiv Sena-NCP coalition appears to retain Maharashtra with their spectacular performance, posting a stunning comeback after the Lok Sabha debacle earlier this year.

The ruling Mahayuti alliance has either won or is leading in 231 of the 288 seats.

The BJP has so far won 67 seats and is leading in 66, the Shiv Sena has won 35 and is ahead in 22 seats, while the NCP has won 28 and is leading in 13 seats, as per the latest Election Commission figures.

The results have come as a setback for Sharad Pawar and Uddhav Thackeray as the assembly elections followed splits in their parties. The Bal Thackeray-founded Shiv Sena split in June 2022 after Eknath Shinde rebelled against the then chief minister Uddhav Thackeray bringing down his government while Mr Pawar's nephew Ajit Pawar walked away to join the ruling alliance in 2023.

Since then, the factions have been in a bitter battle for supremacy.

After the results, termed "historic" by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and several others in the BJP and its alliance partners, the buzzing question is who would be the Chief Minister.

Even as many are rooting for deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis for the top post, both he and Chief Minister Eknath Shinde have maintained that all parties will meet and decide who the leader will be.