Rahul Gandhi Becomes Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha
Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge praised the appointment of Rahul Gandhi as Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, stating that the House of the People will truly reflect the aspirations of the last person standing, with Rahul Gandhi becoming their voice.
On Tuesday, Congress declared that Rahul Gandhi, the party’s MP from Raebareli, will be the Leader of the Opposition in the 18th Lok Sabha, ending a 10-year period without a LoP in the Lower House since 2014.
Kharge expressed his confidence in Rahul Gandhi, saying, “As Congress President, I am confident that a leader who has traversed the length and breadth of the country from Kanyakumari to Kashmir, and from Manipur to Maharashtra shall raise the voice of the people — especially the marginalized and the poor.”
He reiterated the party’s commitment to protecting Democracy and the Constitution by upholding its eternal principles of Justice, Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity.
Notably, the Lok Sabha did not have a Leader of the Opposition in the last 10 years because no political party, other than the ruling party, was able to secure the minimum Lok Sabha seats required to nominate a Leader of the Opposition. In the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections, the Congress emerged as the second-largest party with 52 seats, three short of the requisite numbers. In the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, the Congress won 44 Lok Sabha seats, way below the mark.
After the 2024 Lok Sabha Polls, the Congress emerged as the second-largest party in the election and improved its tally to 100 seats from 52 in the 2019 Lok Sabha poll. The total tally of the INDIA bloc stood at 234.
The announcement of Rahul Gandhi as LoP comes a day before the election for the post of Lok Sabha Speaker. Rahul Gandhi won from both Raebareli and Wayanad Lok Sabha constituencies in the recently concluded Lok Sabha polls. He won with a margin of 364,422 votes from Wayanad, defeating Communist Party of India’s Annie Raja, and with a margin of 390,030 votes from Raebareli, defeating Bharatiya Janata Party’s Dinesh Pratap Singh.
However, after announcing that he would resign as an MP from Wayanad and keep the Raebareli constituency, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge announced Priyanka Gandhi’s candidature from Wayanad last week. If Priyanka Gandhi wins from Wayanad, three members of the Nehru-Gandhi family will be in Parliament – Sonia Gandhi in Rajya Sabha and Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi in the Lok Sabha.
Earlier, Rahul Gandhi took the oath as a Member of Parliament, carrying a copy of the Constitution in his hands. The leader of the largest opposition party having not less than one-tenth seats of the total strength of the Lok Sabha is recognized as the Leader of the Opposition. He will be a member of crucial committees such as Public Accounts (Chairman), Public Undertakings, Estimates, and several Joint Parliamentary Committees. He is entitled to be a member of various selection committees responsible for appointing heads of statutory bodies like the Central Vigilance Commission, the Central Information Commission, the CBI, the NHRC, and the Lokpal. The Leader of Opposition in both Houses was accorded statutory recognition under the Salaries and Allowances of Leader of Opposition in Parliament Act, 1977, and is entitled to the salary, allowances, and other facilities equivalent to that of a cabinet minister.
