Next LoP from VBA, claims CM Fadnavis

Mumbai: Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday created a flutter by claiming that the next Leader of Opposition in the Assembly will be from the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA).

Mr Fadnavis said, “The Congress-NCP, which had labelled the VBA as BJP’s ‘B-Team’, has itself becoming the ‘B-Team’. The VBA has become the ‘A-Team’. In the next Assembly, the Leader of Opposition post will be occupied by the VBA,” said Mr Fadnavis.

However, Congress leader and former chief minister Prithviraj Chavan hit back at the CM. He claimed the chief minister’s statement laid to rest any doubts about VBA’s clandestine support to the BJP.

“During the Lok Sabha election, everybody was aware about the relation between the BJP and VBA. CM’s statement on VBA has only strengthened the belief that they are working together,” Mr Chavan said.

Bharip Bahujan Mahasangh (BBP) leader Prakash Ambedkar and AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi had formed the VBA ahead of the Lok Sabha election this year.

Even though the VBA won just one Lok Sabha seat, it took away 41 lakh votes, which dented the winning chances of Congress-NCP candidates. The NCP and Congress later labelled the VBA as BJP’s ‘B-Team’.

Mr Fadnavis claimed that people had lost faith in Congress-NCP alliance after they failed to play the role of the Opposition effectively. He further said the BJP and Shiv Sena will “100 per cent” form an alliance for the Assembly polls.

“And therefore, I think the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance will get a huge response from the people. I am sure we will get unprecedented number of seats,” he added.

Moreover, Mr Fadnavis also said that people from various parties are joining the Bharatiya Janata Party as they want to work under the leadership of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi.