Mumbai: Just two days before the monsoon session of the state Legislature, Balasaheb Thorat has been appointed leader of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) by the party high command.
Vijay Wadettiwar has been appointed leader of the state Assembly. Now, Mr Wadettiwar will be the next Leader of Opposition, provided the speaker of the house ratifies his name. Former minister and legislator Mohammed Arif Naseem Khan will be the deputy leader in the lower house.
Since senior Congress leader Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil quit the post of leader of CLP after his son Dr Sujay joined the BJP, the post has been vacant. Mr Thorat is said to be Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil’s archrival. The monsoon session will begin Monday and will be the last session of the present Assembly as elections are scheduled in October later this year.
K.C. Venugopal, general secretary, All India Congress Committee (AICC) has approved the name of Mr Thorat as leader of CLP. AICC general secretary Mallikarjun Kharge told reporters, “We are working to make the Congress party strong and united. We have appointed legislators for the respective post in the state Legislature on the basis of social justice.”
