Rahul Gandhi To Become Leader Of Opposition In Lok Sabha? Here's What Congress MP Says

The Congress is likely to push for Rahul Gandhi's appointment as the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha with 99 seats, satisfying the 10% rule for the position.

Rahul Gandhi may become the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha ( Image Source :PTI )

The Opposition's better-than-expected performance has brought back the position of the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha. The question is who will be the Leader of Opposition? The Congress with 99 seats is the largest party and the only one eligible as per the 10%-rule to hold the position of the Leader of Opposition.

As Narendra Modi gears up to take oath as the Prime Minister of India for the record third term, the Opposition is discussing the post of the LoP. Sources told ABP News that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi may be chosen to become the Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha.

Sources said that the Congress leaders have floated the proposal of Rahul Gandhi taking charge of the party in the House and becoming the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha. A decision on this will soon be taken in the Congress Parliamentary Party meeting.

Meanwhile, Congress MP Manikam Tagore has openly demanded that Rahul Gandhi be made the LoP. He posted on social media platform X: "I sought votes on the name of my leader, Rahul Gandhi. I think he should be the Leader of Congress in the Lok Sabha. I hope elected Congress MPs also think the same. Let’s see how the Congress Parliamentary Party decides. We are a Democratic Party. [sic]" He also posted a sketch of Rahul Gandhi 'protecting' people of numerous communities from an attack by goons wearing saffron stoles.

Rahul ji led the campaign frontally. He was the face. He is duty bound to take on the mantle of Lok Sabha parliamentary party leadership. @RahulGandhi cannot take all decisions about himself. Some decisions the party leaders / MPs have to take. Surely will be a unanimous choice.

— Vivek Tankha (@VTankha) June 6, 2024

To become the LoP in Lok Sabha, the candidate must have the support of more than 10% of the members, or 55 votes. In 2014, Congress won 44 seats and in 2019, it won 52 seats, but this time the party has 99 seats. In such a situation, Rahul Gandhi is most likely to become the LoP.

In another post, Manickam Tagore said that Rahul Gandhi is "duty-bound to take on the mantle of Lok Sabha parliamentary party leadership".

Why Rahul Gandhi Can Become LoP?

Former Congress President Rahul Gandhi has played an important role in the Opposition INDIA bloc's comeback in the Lok Sabha elections. Congress has also won the maximum number of seats in the alliance.  Essentially he became a pan-India face for the Opposition.

Recently, Sanjay Raut, leader of former Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena, even said that if the INDIA bloc government and Rahul Gandhi wanted to become the PM, then it would not oppose his candidature. 

Meanwhile, the Opposition's hunt for a 'kingmaker' is proving to be fruitless because Chandrababu Naidu's TDP and Nitish Kumar's JDU have made their stand clear — that they will remain with the NDA.