For the post of Leader of Opposition, will NCP and Congress merge?

The status is granted to the party that gets at least 10% of the Lok Sabha's 543 seats

The Congress has won 52 seats in the new Lok Sabha. This means none of its leaders would be eligible for the Opposition leader status in the Lok Sabha. The status is granted to the house leader of the principal Opposition party but only if that party gets at least 10 per cent of the Lok Sabha's 543 seats. The Congress is a couple of seats short. A section in the Congress believes it is time that the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) merged with the Congress. This, according to some, will serve two purposes. The NCP has five