NCP leader Ajit Pawar appointed as leader of opposition in Maharashtra Assembly

NCP leader and Maharashtra's former deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar has been appointed as the state assembly's leader of opposition.

Maharashtra's former deputy chief minister and senior Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader, Ajit Pawar, was appointed principal secretary of the Assembly and leader of the opposition in the House on Monday. 

According to Speaker Rahul, NCP legislative party leader Jayant Patil proposed Pawar's name, which the Assembly approved as the NCP emerged as the single-largest opposition party in the 288-member House Narvekar.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde described Pawar as a mature politician and administrator in his first Assembly speech after securing a majority in the floor test.

Ajit Pawar (62), a one-time MP from Baramati, is also a seven-time MLA from Baramati. He has served as Deputy Chief Minister four times, holding portfolios such as Finance and Planning, Irrigation/Water Resources, and Rural Development.

Earlier today, Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde won the floor test in the Maharashtra Assembly with the support of his ally, the BJP. The floor test secured his position as Maharashtra's 20th Chief Minister and the leader of the 'real Shiv Sena,' based on Balasaheb Thackeray's ideology.

The floor test comes a day after the BJP's Rahul Narwekar was elected Speaker with 164 votes.