NCP asks Congress to wait before claiming Opposition leader post in Maharashtra

Prithviraj Chavan says that at a meeting with Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, the Congress has decided to wait till Sharad Pawar’s party sorts out its issues.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi meets Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar at the latter's residence, in New Delhi, Thursday, July 6, 2023. (PTI Photo)

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The Congress has decided to wait for sometime before laying claim to the post of Leader of the Opposition in the Maharashtra Assembly after a request from the Sharad Pawar-led NCP, which has sought time till it sorts out the matter arising out of the vertical split in the party.

The decision to wait was taken at a meeting that top leaders of the state Congress had with party president Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi in New Delhi on Tuesday.

“The NCP led by Sharad Pawar has requested us to wait for sometime till its split is finalised. Accordingly, our leaders told us that we will have to wait for sometime till the NCP sorts out its issue,” former chief minister Prithviraj Chavan, who was among the leaders who attended the meeting, told The Indian Express on Wednesday.

Chavan said the Congress has the required numbers to claim the Opposition leader’s post. “After the splits in both the Shiv Sena led by Uddhav Thackeray and the NCP led by Sharad Pawar, the Congress has emerged as the party with the highest number of MLAs,” he added.

Shiv Sena (UBT) spokesperson Sanjay Raut said his party would back the Congress’s claim. “We already have the Leader of Opposition’s post in the state Legislative Council. Now after the NCP’s split, the numbers are in favour of the Congress to claim the Opposition leader’s post in the Assembly,” he said.

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Sanjay Tatkare, spokesperson for the Ajit Pawar-led NCP, said that if the Congress did not lay claim to the post, Jitendra Awhad of the Pawar-led party might lay claim. “Ajit Pawar, after becoming the Deputy Chief Minister, is no longer the Leader of the Opposition,” he said.

Asked whether Ajit’s NCP would allow the post to be claimed by the Congress and the NCP, Tatkare said, “The Congress has 44 MLAs… A party that wants to claim the Opposition leader’s post should have 10 per cent of the MLAs. Of the 288 MLAs in the House, at least 29 MLAs are required to claim the opposition leader’s post. The Congress has 44 MLAs in the House and has a rightful claim.”

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Chavan said the leader of Opposition was not a constitutional post but one given by convention. “The Assembly speaker has to take a call in this connection. He has to invite the party with the most MLAs to claim the post…,” he said.

Also Read | Shrinking Sharad Pawar, splitting NCP hold seeds for BJP’s 2024 plan: break regional parties, rebuild alliances

Chavan also said the meeting in Delhi lasted nearly four and a half hours. Asked whether Gandhi had a one-to-one conversation with him, the senior Congress leader said, “There was no one-to-one talk but we all discussed the issues affecting the Congress in Maharashtra. The discussions were cordial and the stress was on strengthening the party, especially in the wake of our alliance partners becoming weaker…Rahul sat through the entire period…He left soon after the meeting as he complained of fever.”

Chavan was part of the Congress’s G23 team and had had no conversation with Gandhi for a long time till they met during the latter’s Bharat Jodo Yatra. Chavan, who was sidelined by the Congress, has now started taking an active part in the party activities and is likely to play a key role during the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections, a senior leader said.

Manoj Dattatrye More

Manoj Dattatrye More is a Senior Editor at The Indian Express, having been with the publication since 1992. Based in Pune, he is a veteran journalist with a 33-year career that spans editorial desk work, investigative reporting, and political analysis. Professional Legacy Experience: He spent his first 16 years on the editorial desk before moving into active field reporting. He has written over 20,000 stories, including more than 10,000 bylined articles. Impact Journalism: He is widely respected for "campaign-style" reporting that leads to tangible social change. Road Safety: His decade-long campaign regarding the dangerous state of the Pune-Mumbai highway in Khadki resulted in a ₹23 crore reconstruction project in 2006, which dramatically reduced fatalities. Environmental Protection: His reports against tree cutting on the Pune-Mumbai and Pune-Nashik highways saved approximately 2,000 trees. Anti-Corruption: During the COVID-19 pandemic, he exposed a scam where doctors were being asked to pay bribes for government jobs, resulting in them being hired without payment. Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025) Manoj More's recent work focuses heavily on the shifting political landscape of Maharashtra and civic governance in the Pimpri-Chinchwad area: 1. Political Shifts & Alliances "Ajit Pawar's NCP continues domination in Pune, wins 10 of 17 local bodies" (Dec 21, 2025): A major report on the local self-government election results, detailing the NCP’s stronghold in Baramati, Indapur, and Lonavala. "BJP ropes in 13 ex-corporators, deals major blow to NCP" (Dec 20, 2025): Reporting on a significant political defection in Pimpri-Chinchwad as the BJP gears up for civic polls. "Congress opts for solo BMC run as alliance talks with Sena (UBT) collapse" (Dec 17, 2025): Covering the breakdown of Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) talks for the Mumbai civic elections. "NCP(SP)'s Rahul Kalate, Sena (UBT) leader Sanjog Waghere set to join BJP" (Dec 19, 2025): Detailing high-profile party-hopping ahead of the municipal elections. 2. Civic & Administrative Accountability "PCMC draws ire for issuing tenders worth Rs 250 crore just before poll code" (Dec 17, 2025): An investigative piece on the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation’s last-minute spending spree before election restrictions. "93 killed in 76 accidents in five years: Bypass service roads in Pune remain undeveloped for 18 yrs" (Nov 16, 2025): A critical look at the long-delayed infrastructure projects contributing to fatalities on Pune’s bypass roads. 3. Social & Labor Issues "As state says TCS has laid off 376 employees: FITE flags figures, say nearly 2,500 were forced to quit" (Dec 11, 2025): Investigating conflicting reports regarding IT sector layoffs in Maharashtra. "Maharashtra govt move to 'downgrade' Aadhaar cards" (Nov 30, 2025): Reporting on the state’s decision to require additional documents alongside Aadhaar to combat identity misuse. Signature Beat Manoj More is the definitive voice on Pimpri-Chinchwad, an industrial hub he has covered for three decades. His reporting is characterized by its aggressive stance against local "gondaism" (thuggery) and a relentless focus on civic infrastructure—choked drains, garbage management, and public transport. X (Twitter): @manojmore91982 ... Read More

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