Rahul Gandhi named Leader of Opposition in India’s Lok Sabha

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi has been named the Leader of the Opposition in India’s Lok Sabha, party general secretary KC Venugopal announced after a meeting of floor leaders of opposition parties, reports Hindustan Times.

"CPP chairperson Sonia Gandhi wrote a letter to pro-tem Speaker Bhartruhari Mahtab, informing the decision of appointment of Rahul Gandhi as the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha," Venugopal said at a press briefing.

“Other office bearers will be decided later,” he added.

The decision to appoint Rahul Gandhi as the LoP in Lok Sabha was made at the meeting of floor leaders of INDIA bloc parties at Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge's residence in New Delhi. NCP(SP) leader Supriya Sule, TMC MP Derek O'Brien, and Rashtriya Loktantrik Party leader Hamunan Beniwal were among the floor leaders present at the meeting.

“Congress is the largest member of the INDIA bloc. They won 99 seats in Lok Sabha polls 2024, and Rahul Gandhi played a key role in it. We are glad that he has been appointed as Leader of Opposition,” said Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Anand Dubey.

Rahul Gandhi has been an MP for five terms and currently represents the Rae Bareli constituency in the Lok Sabha. He took oath as an MP on Tuesday while holding a copy of the Constitution. The Congress, being the single largest opposition party, gets the post of opposition leader after a gap of 10 years. It had failed to get the 10 per cent members required in the Lok Sabha to secure the post in the last two elections.

Gandhi gave a broader indication last week when he said that Kharge had “threatened” him (with action if he doesn’t accept the party’s resolution to be LoP).

The appointment of Rahul Gandhi as LoP in Lok Sabha comes ahead of the election to the post of Speaker for which both the ruling NDA and the opposition INDIA bloc have fielded their respective candidates.