After its break-up with Trinamool Congress, the West Bengal Congress is now planning to appeal to the speaker of state assembly for the status of principal opposition as it is the "single largest opposition party."
“Being the the single largest party in opposition, we can always claim the status. We have sought permission from high command to claim our stake as principal opposition in the assembly,” West Bengal Pradesh Congress President Prdip Bhattachary said.
The Congress has 42 MLAs while the Communist Party of India (Marxist) or CPI (M) has 39 MLAs in the state.
However, as a pre-poll alliance, the Left Front which includes Communist Party of India (CPI), Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP), Forward Bloc and other left parties, apart from CPI (M), has 62 seats in the assembly.
Congress leaders claimed the leader of opposition post should go to single largest party, not the largest alliance.
At present, the Leader of Opposition post is held by Surjya Kanta Mishra of the CPI (M).
Incidentally, the Congress party has already appealed to the speaker to sit in the opposition bench in the state assembly.
