The Congress has emerged as the second-largest party in the recent Lok Sabha election and improved its tally to 99, from 52 in the 2019 Lok Sabha poll. Now, all eyes are on the Leader of the Opposition post in the Lok Sabha. As per rules, the biggest opposition party with 10 per cent of seats has a Leader of Opposition post in the Lok Sabha. The Congress won just 44 seats in the 2014 Lok Sabha election, and 52 in 2019. It is worth noting that no opposition party had got the crucial post in 2014 and 2019 because they did not have 10 per cent of the Lok Sabha’s strength which is needed to be eligible for it.
The election saw Congress getting its best result since Narendra Modi swept to power a decade ago. While the BJP-led NDA has formed the government, people are also talking about Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s impressive performance, as he won the Wayanad and Rae Bareli constituencies and emerged as a mature leader. Several Congress leaders have come out and voiced their demand that Rahul Gandhi should take over the position of Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha citing that he will play a crucial role and this move will ultimately strengthen the party.
NCP (SP) president Sharad Pawar on June 20 said that the Congress will decide who will be the new Leader of Opposition in the 18th Lok Sabha and the selected candidate will be supported by the constituents of the INDIA bloc. Pawar, while talking to the media said, “In the INDIA bloc, Congress has bagged the highest number of seats and would be entitled to the LoP post. Before the Lok Sabha session starting from June 24, the INDIA bloc will have a meeting and finalise the name for the LoP post. We shall endorse the decision.”
With the Congress claiming back a bigger chunk of the opposition space in 2024, the Congress Working Committee had recently passed a resolution stating that Rahul Gandhi – who won Rae Bareli and Wayanad seats with a margin of over 3.5 lakh votes – should be appointed the Leader of the Opposition. The party has attributed its comeback to Rahul Gandhi’s efforts. At the heart of Rahul Gandhi’s campaign efforts were long marches undertaken across the length and breadth of the country to galvanise support against Narendra Modi.
The Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha is also a member of crucial committees, including Public Accounts, Public Undertakings, Estimates, and several Joint Parliamentary Committees, to name a few. The Leader of the Opposition is also a member of various selection committees responsible for appointing heads of statutory bodies like the Central Vigilance Commission, the Central Information Commission, the CBI Director, the NHRC Chairperson, the Lokpal, which the Congress had stayed away from in the last ten years.
