The Reasons Behind Congress Missing Leader Of Opposition Post In 2014 And 2019

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will occupy the post of Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and a letter about the decision has been sent to Pro-tem Speaker Bhartruhari Mahtab.

The decision on Rahul Gandhi's appointment as the Leader of the Opposition was made after a meeting of the floor leaders of the INDIA bloc at Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge's residence.

The Congress, being the single largest opposition party, gets the post of opposition leader after a gap of 10 years.

Why did Congress not get the post in 2014 and 2019?

The grand old party did not get the said post after failing to secure 10 per cent strength in the 543-member Lok Sabha. In 2014, they won only 44 seats, and in 2019, they secured 52 seats. For a party to get the LoP post, it should get at least 55 seats.

However, the Congress has increased its tally to 99 in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. Hence, the grand old party is getting the Leader of the Opposition post.

As a result, the Congress did not get official LoP status and the associated privileges, making it difficult to effectively hold the government accountable and influence legislative proceedings. Hence, the decade is considered to be the toughest phase for the grand old party since its inception.

The Congress is now positioned to play a critical role in parliamentary debates.

Who Will Be The Next Speaker?

The National Democratic Alliance's (NDA) candidate, Om Birla, is leading significantly over his Congress rival K Suresh, with support from at least 293 MPs for the Lok Sabha Speaker election.

This election is notable for being only the fourth in Lok Sabha history where the Speaker is chosen through an election, rather than by consensus.