Maharashtra Opposition Boycotts Government's Tea Party Ahead of Assembly Session

On the eve of the winter session of Maharashtra Assembly, the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi or MVA held a joint meeting and decided to boycott the state government's traditional tea party, citing the failure to appoint Leaders of the Opposition in both Houses.

"Since Independence, the tradition of naming the Leader of the Opposition has been respected, yet today both posts lie vacant. By doing this, the government is showing disrespect to the Constitution of India," said senior Congress MLA Vijay Wadettiwar.

Shiv Sena UBT MLA Bhaskar Jadhav, who is the alliance nominee for the post, alleged that the government was deliberately avoiding the appointment.

"The government knows that once an LoP is appointed, many of its wrongdoings will come out," Jadhav said.

The ruling BJP countered the allegations, arguing that the Opposition lacks the required strength.

"The Opposition does not have the numbers needed for the Leader of Opposition post, which is why it remains vacant," said BJP MLA and Mumbai unit chief Ameet Satam.

Agrarian Crisis to Dominate Opposition Strategy

The MVA meeting, attended by leaders of Sena UBT, Congress and NCP, also outlined the joint strategy for the session. Farmer distress, loan waiver promises and the state's handling of crop losses due to extreme rainfall are expected to dominate the Opposition's attacks.
Quoting NCRB data, Wadettiwar said: "Maharashtra accounts for 38 per cent of all farmer suicides in India since 2014, and 2,706 farmers died by suicide in 2024, while 1,186 have already died in the first eight months of 2025".

Following unprecedented rainfall across central Maharashtra just before Diwali, the Opposition had demanded that the state declare a "wet drought" and seek a special package from the Centre. However, they alleged the government dropped the issue as the local elections approached.

Corruption Allegations and "Contract Politics"

Multiple MVA leaders also levelled fresh allegations of corruption against the state government. According to them, contracts worth Rs 1.09 lakh crore have been awarded to favoured contractors, the Social Justice Department is embroiled in corruption, massive irregularities have been reported in the medical sector, and the Kolwashi scam remains a major unresolved issue.

Jadhav further alleged that cabinet ministers had become "contractors of their own departments", competing internally to "earn the most money".

Uddhav Thackeray's Warning

Earlier, UBT chief Uddhav Thackeray had sharply criticised the government, accusing it of "creating new posts" instead of honouring constitutional ones. "If the government fails to appoint an Leader of the Opposition, it will be the first time that a session is held without one. If no LoP is appointed, then the posts of Deputy Chief Ministers should also be abolished, because they are not constitutional," Mr. Thackeray said.