Congress to decide on LoP in LS: Pawar

Pune: NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar stated on Thursday that the Congress will determine the appointment of the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, as it holds the most seats among the INDIA bloc parties in the Lower House of Parliament.

When asked about efforts to have the Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha from the Opposition, Pawar noted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not follow this “rule” in his previous government. “A discussion will take place on that point, but I do not think any fruitful outcome will be there from it,” he remarked.

Pawar made these comments while speaking to reporters in Baramati, Pune district, Maharashtra.

The BJP secured 240 seats in the recently concluded elections for the 543-member Lok Sabha and formed a government with its National Democratic Alliance (NDA) partners. Among the Opposition INDIA bloc, the Congress won the highest number of seats, totaling 99.

Regarding the appointment of the Leader of Opposition, Pawar said: “Earlier, we had agreed that the position would go to the party with the highest seats. Today, the Congress has the maximum seats (among Opposition parties) in the Lok Sabha, so they will decide who should hold the position.” He added that after the Congress makes its decision, it will need the consent of the INDIA bloc.

Speaking on the Maha Vikas Aghadi’s (MVA) success in the Lok Sabha polls in Maharashtra, Pawar claimed that people have lost faith in PM Modi and that “Modi’s guarantee” proved to be false. “The people of the state concluded that the promises he made in the last five years were not kept,” he said. The MVA, comprising the Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) led by Uddhav Thackeray, and NCP (SP), won 30 out of 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra. The ruling Mahayuti, which includes the BJP, Shiv Sena led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, and the NCP headed by Deputy CM Ajit Pawar, secured 17 seats.