YSR Congress Party president and former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy may have been denied the Leader of Opposition status in the state assembly, despite his repeated demands under the Telugu Desam Party-led coalition government.
However, Jagan has now been allocated a dedicated front-row seat in the opposition benches, positioned directly opposite Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu's seat in the assembly.
On Monday, Assembly Deputy Speaker K Raghu Ramakrishna Raju announced the seating arrangement for various leaders in the House, including the Chief Minister, Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan, Finance Minister Payyavula Kesav, the Chief Whip, and other government whips.
While Naidu was assigned Seat No 1, Pawan Kalyan received Seat No 39, adjacent to Payyavula Kesav in the front row.
Similarly, Raju confirmed that Jagan was allotted a front-row seat on the opposition benches, recognizing him as the YSRCP legislature party chief, even though he was not granted the official Leader of Opposition status.
This means Jagan has been acknowledged as the main opposition leader in the assembly, but he does not enjoy the privileges, perks, and cabinet minister rank that come with the Leader of Opposition position, including sufficient speaking time in the House.
Regardless, Jagan has already decided to boycott the assembly sessions along with his party MLAs. As a result, the seat allocation holds little significance for him and his party members.
