Shiv Sena MLC Ambadas Danve, a member of the party faction led by Uddhav Thackeray, was on Tuesday appointed the Leader of the Opposition in the Maharashtra Legislative Council.

The appointment of Danve, a member of the Legislative Council since 2019, takes effect immediately, according to an official notification.

The move comes a day after Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray wrote to the Chairman of the Legislative Council nominating Danve as the Leader of the Opposition (LoP), a Cabinet-rank post, in the Upper House of the state legislature.

This is a rare case where the chief minister (Eknath Shinde) and the LoP in the Council belong to the same party (the Sena), though they are from different factions of the outfit.

Last month, a delegation of Shiv Sena MLCs comprising Manisha Kayande, Sachin Ahir, Ambadas Danve, Vilas Potnis and Sunil Shinde met Neelam Gorhe, the Deputy Chairperson of the Council, and submitted a letter regarding the Leader of the Opposition and the chief whip.

Gorhe said the Legislative Council had received a letter that the Leader of Opposition should be from the Shiv Sena as the party has numbers on its side in the Upper House.

"The Shiv Sena in the Maharashtra Legislative Council has been recognised as the party in the Opposition to the Government in Maharashtra Legislative Council. Accordingly, Ambadas Eknathrao Danve, MLC, is recognised as Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra Legislative Council with effect from 9th August, 2022," said a notification signed by Rajendra Bhagwat, Principal Secretary, Legislative Council.

A Thackeray loyalist, Danve hails from Aurangabad, the central Maharashtra district which has four rebel Sena MLAs supporting Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.

The 78-member Legislative Council has 24 members from the BJP, 12 from the Shiv Sena and 10 each from the Congress and the NCP. The Lok Bharti, the Peasants and Workers Party of India and the Rashtriya Samaj Paksh have one member each besides four independents, while 15 seats are vacant.