Leader of Opposition post: Congress may miss out this time as well

New Delhi, May 24: The Congress has failed to 10 per cent of the seats in Parliament as a result it may miss out on getting the post of Leader of Opposition this time too.

The party needs to have 55 of the 543 Lok Sabha seats in order to get the LoP position in Parliament. The Congress has won or is leading in 52 seats and is short by 3 seats for the position.

It may be recalled that the BJP led NDA had refused to give the position of LoP to the Congress in 2014, after it had won only 44 seats. The BJP had said that the party does not meet the required criteria for the post.

While the norm is that a party should have 10 per cent of the seats in Parliament, it is entirely up to the government on take a call on the same. If the government wishes it can give the Congress the position of LoP, even if the party does not meet the requirement.

The LoP is an important position especially when it comes to appointing the CVC, CBI chief and Lokpal. The Congress had raised this issue and the government had finally agreed to include Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge into the high powered panel, which also comprises the Prime Minister and Chief Justice of India.