The winter session of the Maharashtra Legislature is starting on Monday (December 8). The entire secretariat's operations have been shifted from Mumbai to Nagpur due to the session, and most preparations by the relevant departments have been completed. Meanwhile, for the first time in Maharashtra's history, such a situation has arisen where there is no official Leader of Opposition in both the Assembly and the Legislative Council.
No opposition party received at least 10 percent of the total seats after the November 2024 assembly elections. To claim the position of Leader of the Opposition in the 288-member assembly, at least 29 MLAs are required. None of the constituent parties of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT), Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar)) have such numbers independently. Therefore, this position is vacant.
The position of Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council has also been vacant since August 29, 2025, as no opposition party has the required 10 percent numbers according to the rules there. In the previous six decades of Maharashtra's political history, there was always a Leader of the Opposition in the assembly, but due to the current political situation, both houses do not have a Leader of the Opposition at the same time.
The winter session was expected to last three weeks here in Nagpur. The focus is on what Vidarbha gets from the session. The winter session is going to be wrapped up in just 7 days citing the election as the reason. On one hand, the state treasury is empty, and on the other hand, the government cannot make any announcements in this session citing the code of conduct, said Congress Legislature Leader Vijay Wadettiwar. According to the Nagpur agreement, it was expected that the session in Vidarbha should be at least 6 weeks long.
However, now only six days remain for this year's winter session. Officials and employees from various departments of the legislature secretariat and the ministry have arrived in Nagpur for the winter session. Approximately 750 officials and employees from various departments have come to Nagpur. Additionally, the Governor, Chief Minister, both Deputy Chief Ministers, the Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the Assembly, the Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the Legislative Council, the leaders of the opposition, members of both houses, and a large number of office staff and PAs have arrived in Nagpur for the session.