A woman could head the Victorian Liberals for the first time after a group of MPs told current leader Brad Battin he has lost partyroom support amid continued bleak polling.

Battin was chosen less than a year ago to head the state party. But he is expected to face a partyroom spill as soon as Tuesday morning with a challenged expected from Kew MP Jess Wilson, a former staffer to ex-federal treasurer Josh Frydenberg.

A delegation of Liberal MPs visited Battin on Monday to tell him he had lost partyroom support. Others then called him to deliver the same message.

Deputy leader Sam Groth said on Monday night that Battin “absolutely” remained leader, but that “only time will tell” if he would continue as state Opposition Leader.

Groth’s position would also be opened to a vote if the leadership is spilled.

Opposition Leader Brad Battin and deputy Sam Groth face the prospect of a challenge. Photo: AAP

The Victorian opposition has slipped in recent polls despite the three-term Labor government grappling with soaring crime and state debt.

Internal tensions have simmered since a crushing defeat at the 2022 election, spilling into a defamation lawsuit by Liberal MP Moira Deeming against the party’s previous leader John Pesutto.

If Battin were to fall, the leader would be the Victorian Liberals’ fifth since September 2021.

The moves among the state MP came after the federal Liberals last week abandoned the party’s net-zero emissions policy, stoking speculation of a challenge against leader Sussan Ley.