NEW DELHI: Prominent politician Rahul Gandhi will be the Indian opposition’s parliamentary leader, a key post that will allow him to take the government to task more effectively.
A party must have at least 10 per cent of the lower house Lok Sabha’s 543 seats to claim the title of leader of the opposition.
Rahul’s Congress party won 99 seats in the recently-held general election, while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) emerged as the single largest party by grabbing 240.
Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi has written to pro-tem speaker Bhartruhari Mahtab, informing him of the decision to appoint Rahul as the leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha, Congress general secretary K.C. Venugopal told reporters after a meeting of opposition leaders at Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s residence on Tuesday evening.
“In the 18th Lok Sabha, the House of the People shall truly reflect the aspirations of the last person standing, with Rahul Gandhi becoming their voice,” Kharge said.
The key post was unoccupied following the 2014 and 2019 elections as no party had the required minimum number of seats to claim it.
However the resurgent opposition, united under the Congress-led multiparty Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), denied the BJP an outright majority in the recent election.
With the INDIA bloc occupying 230 seats, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government is expected to face challenging times in the new parliament.
Members took their oaths on Monday and Tuesday with the start of the first session of parliament.
Rahul, 54, is a fifth-term parliament member and represents the Raebareli constituency. – BERNAMA
