Next,Cong-CPM battle for main Opposition seat

“The post of the Leader of the Opposition should come to us since we have 42 MLAs,which is the largest number among the opposition parties. We will discuss the issue and stake the claim on Thursday,’’ said Asit Mitra,a senior MLA of the party.

In the 294-member Assembly,the Congress has 42 MLAs while the Left Front has 61 of which 39 belong to the CPM. The party,which was in alliance with the Trinamool Congress,left the government as a tit-for-tat for the Trinamool’s decision to pullout from the UPA-II at the Centre.

The CPM,however,does not seem to concede the ground to the Congress so easily. “We had a pre-poll alliance with other Left parties and it is the Left Front and not the CPM which has got the status of the main Opposition party. While the Leader of the Opposition is from the CPM our chief whip is from Forward Bloc. We will contest Congress’s claim hard,” said Anisur Rehman,deputy leader of the Left Front Parliamentary Party.

In the Thursday’s meeting,the Congress will also discuss,among other things,its role in the Assembly in the coming days. “We will tell the MLA s under which circumstances we have withdrawn our support. We will also discuss what kind of a role we will play inside the House,’’ MD Sohrab,leader of the CLP,told The Indian Express.

Meanwhile,Congress MLAs continued to oppose the government on various issues in the Assembly. Both the Congress and the CPM today sought an adjournment motion on dengue,which was rejected by the government.