Vijay Wadettiwar named new Opposition leader in Maharashtra Assembly

Wadettiwar was named LOP after senior Congress leader Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil resigned from the post in April. On June 4, Vikhe Patil resigned as a Congress MLA and was inducted as cabinet minister in the BJP-led state government.

Senior Congress legislator Vijay Wadettiwar was appointed the new Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly on Monday. The announcement was made by state Assembly speaker Haribhau Bagade in the lower house.

Congress legislator Vijay Namdevrao Wadettiwar has been appointed leader of Opposition in Maharashtra assembly. (Anshuman Poyrekar/HT Photo)

In April, senior Congress leader Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil had resigned from the post. On June 4, he resigned as a Congress MLA and was inducted as cabinet minister in the BJP-led state government.

Wadettiwar, a former Shiv Sena Sena leader, joined the Congress with former chief minister Narayan Rane. He is known for being an aggressive leader and comes from Chandrapur district in Vidarbha. “With the state Assembly elections coming up in the next few months, I have very little time as the leader of Opposition in the house. However, I will work hard to strengthen the party,” said Wadettiwar.

Congress had recently appointed Wadettiwar as group leader in the state Assembly after which both Congress and NCP jointly recommended his name for the post of leader of opposition.