Vanishing Opposition in Maharashtra

Given the current rate of attrition in the Opposition rank and file, with defectors hopping onto the BJP and the Shiv Sena with a monotonous regularity, it sadly appears that Maharashtra will soon be practically 'Opposition-mukt.' So far, the NCP had received the blows and the Congress looked like it saved the blushes.

But yesterday, the Congress got three jolts, with former Minister Harshavardhan Patil inching towards the BJP and another former Minister Kripashankar Singh and actress-turned Urmila Matondkar, who unsuccessfully contested from Mumbai North in the Lok Sabha election, resigning from the party.

During his mass outreach programme, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had recently claimed that the Opposition parties would be diminished to such an extent that that they would be hard-pressed to secure the post of the leader of opposition. Looks his claim is likely to fructify as all the senior leaders perceived to possess the 'winnable' factor are joining the ruling bandwagon. One wonders who will then be left in the Opposition?

-Padmini Raghavendra, Mettuguda, Secunderabad