Water crisis in Maharashtra in focus as monsoon session begins on Monday

Mumbai: The monsoon session of the state legislature will begin on Monday, once again without a leader of opposition (LoP) in the assembly and the council.Repercussions of ‘Operation Tiger’, the name given to Shiv Sena’s attempt to get Shiv Sena (UBT) MPs over to its side, are set to be felt during the session, and the opposition, of which Shiv Sena (UBT) is the largest party, is expected to take on govt on various issues and put up an aggressive front.

The statewide water crisis owing to the delayed monsoon, bottlenecks in the loan waiver scheme, the Pune hooch tragedy that claimed 15 lives in May, and opposition to the sub-categorisation of scheduled castes are expected to turn the session stormy. MVA is likely to demand a water crisis relief package from govt.This will be the assembly’s sixth consecutive session without an LoP since the Mahayuti govt’s re-election in 2024 despite Shiv Sena (UBT) proposing MLA Bhaskar Jadhav’s name.

The post in the council has been vacant since Shiv Sena (UBT) MLC Ambadas Danve’s retirement in Aug 2025. Danve has now been re-elected as an MLC. In both Houses, no single opposition party has achieved the threshold of having 10% of the total strength.

Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar has maintained that he is studying the rules and examining if LoP’s post can be given to a party with fewer than 10% MLAs. In March, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray had urged CM Devendra Fadnavis to allow the appointment of LoPs, citing the example of Vithalrao Hande of Peasants and Workers Party, who served as LoP in the legislative council from 1988-1990 despite not having the requisite number of members.

Senior officials said it’s the first time in many years that both Houses have been without LoPs for so long. “This is rare. The LoP is a constitutional post and s/he has a cabinet rank. The LoP is a key functionary in the working of the legislature and is a post created to keep a check on govt. Without an LoP in both Houses, the state govt will have a free run. It is important to have an LoP, especially in these crucial times, when the state is staring at a drought and has a mounting debt burden.

The LoP is also supposed to be part of several statutory committees,” said a senior official.