SC dismisses BJP’S plea for Opposition leader’s post in BMC

MUMBAI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed a petition filed by Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Prabhakar Shinde, to stake claim to the post of the leader of the Opposition (LOP) in Shiv Sena-ruled Brihanmumbai

Municipal Corporation (BMC). The post is currently occupied by the Congress party.

Shinde filed a special leave petition in the Supreme Court in January after the Bombay high court, too, had rejected his claim over LOP post in BMC in September 2020. “We have decided to file a review petition soon,”

Shinde said on Tuesday evening.

After the 2017 BMC elections, BJP had voluntarily forfeited LOP post. Of the 227 seats in BMC, Shiv Sena and BJP, who were in alliance in the state government at the time, had 84 and 82 corporators, respectively. The Lop’s post then went to the Congress, which had 31 seats.

Current LOP, Congress corporator Ravi Raja, said, “If BJP truly had the interest of the people of Mumbai in mind, it would have accepted the Opposition leader’s post in 2017 itself. Now they are only being political.”

After the Assembly elections in 2019, the Sena and BJP parted ways, and the Shiv Sena, Congress

and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) formed the government in the state.

In February 2020, BJP staked the claim to the Opposition leader’s post in BMC after party’s city president Mangal Prabhat Lodha wrote a letter to mayor Kishori Pednekar. However, Pednekar denied BJP the post, stating that once it was forfeited voluntarily, it could not be given back.

Currently, BJP has 83 seats in BMC, while Congress has 29 seats. The Sena’s strength rose to 97. The numbers changed owing to defection of MNS corporators to Sena, disqualification or death of sitting corporators.