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Journalism of Courage
Within hours of rebel leader Narayan Rane joining the Congress on Friday night, the Shiv Sena received a severe jolt when alliance partner BJP staked claim to the post left vacant by Rane in the state Assembly.
After a series of meetings among leaders of both the parties during the day, BJP MLAs led by Nitin Gadkari and Gopinath Munde met Assembly Speaker Babasaheb Kupekar and staked claim to the post of Leader of Opposition. They reasoned that the post has been lying vacant since Rane resigned on July 12, and would remain so for the next three months, if it were not filled by Saturday when the monsoon session ends.
That the Sena has accepted the inevitable was clear when its executive president Uddhav Thackeray told Kupekar that his party would support the BJP’s claim.
In the House of 288 members, Rane had become the Leader of Opposition in 2004 after the Shiv Sena emerged as the single largest party in the opposition with 63 members. After Rane revolted against heir-apparent Uddhav Thacakeray and resigned as Sena leader, the Sena’s strength had reduced to 52, with 10 MLAs in the Rane camp.
The BJP now has 54 MLAs — two more than that of the Sena, making it eligible for the claim. Its obvious choice is Gopinath Munde, the party leader in the Assembly. An official confirmation of this is expected tomorrow.
Earlier during the day, BJP’s general secretary Pramod Mahajan met the Sena’s executive president Uddhav Thackeray and made it clear that it was not prudent to leave the Opposition Leader’s post vacant, as the monsoon session would conclude on Saturday.
After Rane’s resignation, the Sena had staked its claim to the post but had not been able to install Ramdas Kadam, fearing it would fall short of the required number to push through the proposal.
‘‘If the post of the Leader of Opposition is not filled by tomorrow, the state will remain without an LO for at least the next three months, till the legislature meets again,’’ Mahajan said.
