Will Rahul Gandhi be Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha?

With the 18th Lok Sabha election results, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has finally redeemed himself. The Opposition INDIA bloc’s performance in the general elections defied exit poll predictions. While the grouping led by the Congress could not halt the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) headed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from returning to power for a third term, it had all the reason to cheer for making a stunning comeback.

The victory was sweeter for the Congress which won 99 out of the 543 Lok Sabha seats – its highest tally since 2014. Now, the Grand Old Party is eligible to claim the position of Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha.

There are reports that many Congress leaders want Gandhi to be the LoP in the lower house of Parliament.

Here’s a look at why the post is important, why it has been vacant since 2014 and if Rahul Gandhi would accept the party’s demand.

LoP post in Lok Sabha

The Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha is a Cabinet-rank post that comes with its own perks.

The LoP is a member of many crucial committees such as Public Accounts, Public Undertakings, Estimates, and so on, as per India Today.

Besides being on several Joint Parliamentary panels, the LoP is also part of selection committees that appoint heads of the central agencies like the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and chiefs of statutory bodies like the Central Vigilance Commission, the Central Information Commission, etc.

No LoP since 2014

The Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) was routed by the NDA in 2014, with the Grand Old Party being reduced to a mere 44 seats in the Lok Sabha.

As the BJP’s main challenger had less than the required threshold of 54 MPs in the lower house, the BJP, through the appointed Speaker, refused to recognise the Grand Old Party’s leader as LoP.

According to the rules, a party needs 10 per cent of seats in the Lok Sabha to be entitled for the LoP post.

In 2019, while the Congress improved its performance a little in terms of seats, it still fell two seats short of the 54-mark.

As the LoP post remained elusive, the Grand Old Party picked its current president Mallikarjun Kharge as the ‘Leader of Congress’ in Lok Sabha in 2014. This post was held by Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury in 2019.

However, this time, Chowdhury lost his Lok Sabha seat of Baharampur in West Bengal to former cricketer Yusuf Pathan of the Trinamool Congress.

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Will Rahul Gandhi be the LoP?

The Congress is reportedly pushing Rahul Gandhi to accept the post of LoP of the Lok Sabha.

Moreover, this is not a new demand. Congress leaders wanted the Gandhi scion to lead the party in the lower house in 2014 after it faced major poll drubbing at the hands of the BJP. A similar request was made in 2019 but Gandhi refused to heed the pressure.

In fact, he even stepped down as the Congress president after the 2019 electoral debacle, a post he had taken over from his mother Sonia Gandhi in 2017.

The clamour has increased this time with the Congress’ revival in electoral politics.  Taking to X, Congress Rajya Sabha MP Vivek Tankha said Rahul Gandhi is “duty-bound” to lead the party as LoP in the lower house of Parliament.

“We want him to be the LoP. But there has not been any discussion on it yet. However, this is the feeling in the party,” a key party functionary was quoted as saying by Times of India (TOI).

Not only voices from within the Congress but even Opposition leaders like Sanjay Raut of Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackrey) and Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi’s (VCK) Thol Thirumavalavan have backed the idea of Gandhi as LoP.

As per Deccan Herald (DH), Congress leaders are of the view that Rahul Gandhi should move from his “de-facto leader” position and officially take up the party’s leadership.

If he concedes, the former Congress chief can directly take on Narendra Modi. The role will also require him to be in contact with the Prime Minister and Speaker of the Lok Sabha regularly.

The supporters of the move argue that Gandhi has been the main Opposition face against Modi both inside and outside Parliament, reported DH.

However, the Congress MP-elect is reluctant to take on the mantle of LoP. “He doesn’t need this post to raise his voice against the government or question the PM,” people who know him told News18.

If Gandhi refuses to buckle under the party pressure, there are other names doing rounds for the post.

These include senior Congress leaders like Shashi Tharoor, Manish Tiwari, KC Venugopal and outgoing Deputy Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi.

However, the DH report says that as Kharge is already LoP Rajya Sabha and both he and Venugopal belong to the south, the party may not go ahead with the latter.

How Rahul Gandhi ensured Congress’ revival

For years, Gandhi has been mocked by the BJP over his remarks, with his leaders even dubbing him ‘Pappu’. He is also a target as he is the heir of the Nehru-Gandhi political dynasty.

The Congress’ failures in the 2014 and 2019 general elections and several Assembly polls held over the decade, as well as its leaders deserting the party during its decline made pollsters believe the Grand Old Party is a spent force.

However, the Congress has been resurging in the recent years. The Gandhi scion’s image took a massive hit due to Congress’ electoral beatings, but now he has proved that can be taken seriously in the Indian political landscape.

These election results indicate Gandhi’s two Bharat Jodo Yatras paid off. The issues he raised of high unemployment, inflation, and growing income inequality also likely resonated with voters. This was visible as the party made significant inroads in the BJP-ruled states like Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana and Maharashtra (a coalition government) in the Lok Sabha polls.

The INDIA bloc got a total of 232 seats and stopped the BJP from reaching the majority mark of 272 on its own, making the party rely on its NDA allies to form the government. Gandhi himself won from both the Lok Sabha seats of Rae Bareli and Wayanad that he contested by margins of over three lakh votes.

The Congress’ political comeback in 2024 would help the party present Gandhi as an alternative to BJP’s PM Modi.

“Rahul Gandhi has emerged as a strong national leader and that should worry Modi,” journalist and political analyst Rasheed Kidwai told Associated Press (AP).

With inputs from agencies