Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha

Indian parliament official opposition leader

For Rajya Sabha, see Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha.

Leader of the Opposition of Lok Sabha

Lok Sabhā ke Vipakṣa ke Netā

Logo of The Lok Sabha

Incumbent
Rahul Gandhi

since 9 June 2024

Style| The Honourable
Type| Leader of the opposition
Status| Head of the opposition alliance or main opposition party
Residence| 10, Janpath, New Delhi
Nominator| Members of the Official Opposition in the Lok Sabha
Appointer| Speaker of the Lok Sabha
Term length| 5 years
Inaugural holder| Ram Subhag Singh (1969–1970)
Formation| 1950
Deputy| Deputy Leader of the Opposition
Salary| ₹330,000 (US$3,900)
(excl. allowances) per month
Website| sansad.in/ls
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The leader of the opposition in Lok Sabha (IAST: Lok Sabhā ke Vipakṣa ke Netā) is an elected Member of Lok Sabha who leads the official opposition in the Lower House of the Parliament of India. The leader of the opposition is the parliamentary chairperson of the largest political party in the Lok Sabha that is not in government (provided that said political party has at least 10% of the seats in the Lok Sabha).[1] Rahul Gandhi is currently serving as leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha.[2]

The office holder ranks 7th in the Order of Precedence of India.[3]

## History

[edit]

In the Lok Sabha until 1969, there was a de facto opposition leader with no formal recognition, status or privilege. Later, the leader of the opposition was given official recognition, and their salary and allowances were extended by the Act of 1977. Since then, the leader in the Lok Sabha should satisfy three conditions, namely,

1. They should be a member of the House
2. of the party in opposition to the Government having the greatest numerical strength and
3. be recognized by the Speaker of the Lok Sabha

In December 1969, the Congress Party (O) was recognized as the main opposition party in the parliament while its leader, Ram Subhag Singh played the role of the opposition leader.

## Roles and responsibilities

[edit]

A Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha has the following responsibilities.

* Status equivalent to Cabinet minister rank
* Member of selection committees
* Director of the Central Bureau of Investigation
* Chief Election Commissioner
* Election Commissioners
* Enforcement Director
* National Human Rights Commissioner
* Lokpal Chairperson
* Audit and Expenditure committee of Government expenditure

However, in the selection panels for most of these appointments, except the CBI, where the Chief Justice of India is a member of this three-member committee that includes the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition, and the Chief Justice of India, the government holds a numerical advantage, i.e votes are in the government's favour. However, the Leader of the Opposition will still have a say.[4]

## Privileges and salary

[edit]

The leader of opposition is a statutory post and officially recognized in “The salary and allowance of Leader of opposition act, 1977”.[1]

## List of leaders of the opposition in Lok Sabha

[edit]

The Lok Sabha did not officially recognize a leader of the opposition until 1969. The position was vacant between 1970 and 1977, between 1980 and 1989 and between 2014 and 2024.[5] Rahul Gandhi of the Congress party has been appointed leader of the opposition in India's parliament, filling a post that had been empty for a decade.[6]

Vacant

No.  | Portrait  | Name  | Constituency | Tenure  | Lok Sabha | Prime Minister | Party

|
|
|
|
|
|
|

1  |  | Ram Subhag Singh | Buxar | 17 December 1969  | 27 December 1970  | 1 year, 10 days  | 4th | Indira Gandhi | Indian National Congress (O) |
–  |  –  | Vacant |  –  | 28 December 1970  | 30 June 1977  | 6 years, 185 days  | 5th | No official opposition
2  |  | Yashwantrao Chavan | Satara | 1 July 1977  | 11 April 1978  | 284 days  | 6th | Morarji Desai | Indian National Congress |
3  |  | C. M. Stephen | Idukki | 12 April 1978  | 9 July 1979  | 1 year, 88 days
(2)  |  | Yashwantrao Chavan | Satara | 10 July 1979  | 28 July 1979  | 18 days
4  |  | Jagjivan Ram | Sasaram | 29 July 1979  | 22 August 1979  | 24 days  | Charan Singh | Janata Party |
–  |  –  | Vacant |  –  | 23 August 1979  | 31 December 1984  | 10 years, 117 days  | 7th | Indira Gandhi | No official opposition[7]
1 January 1985  | 17 December 1989  | 8th | Rajiv Gandhi
5  |  | Rajiv Gandhi | Amethi | 18 December 1989  | 23 December 1990  | 1 year, 5 days  | 9th | VP Singh | Indian National Congress |
6  |  | L. K. Advani | New Delhi | 24 December 1990  | 13 March 1991  | 2 years, 214 days  | Chandra Shekhar | Bharatiya Janata Party |
Gandhinagar | 14 March 1991  | 20 July 1993  | 10th | P. V. Narasimha Rao
7  |  | Atal Bihari Vajpayee | Lucknow | 21 July 1993  | 15 May 1996  | 2 years, 289 days
8  |  | P. V. Narasimha Rao | Berhampur | 16 May 1996  | 31 May 1996  | 15 days  | 11th | Atal Bihari Vajpayee | Indian National Congress |
(7)  |  | Atal Bihari Vajpayee | Lucknow | 1 June 1996  | 4 December 1997  | 1 year, 186 days  | Deve Gowda
IK Gujral | Bharatiya Janata Party |
9  |  | Sharad Pawar | Baramati | 5 December 1997  | 30 October 1999  | 1 year, 38 days  | 12th | Atal Bihari Vajpayee | Indian National Congress |
10  |  | Sonia Gandhi | Amethi | 31 October 1999  | 6 February 2004  | 4 years, 98 days  | 13th
(6)  |  | L. K. Advani | Gandhinagar | 21 May 2004  | 20 December 2009  | 5 years, 213 days  | 14th | Manmohan Singh | Bharatiya Janata Party |
11  |  | Sushma Swaraj | Vidisha | 21 December 2009  | 19 May 2014  | 4 years, 149 days  | 15th
–  |  –  | Vacant |  –  | 20 May 2014  | 29 May 2019  | 10 years, 19 days  | 16th | Narendra Modi | No official opposition[7][8]
30 May 2019  | 8 June 2024  | 17th
12  |  | Rahul Gandhi | Raebareli | 9 June 2024  | Incumbent | 1 year, 36 days  | 18th | Indian National Congress[9] |

## Statistics

[edit]

### List of leaders of the opposition by length of term

[edit]

No.  | Name  | Party  | Length of term

|
|
|

Longest continuous term  | Total years of opposition-ship
1  | Lal Krishna Advani | BJP |  | 5 years, 213 days  | 8 years, 62 days
2  | Sushma Swaraj | BJP |  | 4 years, 149 days  | 4 years, 149 days
3  | Atal Bihari Vajpayee | BJP |  | 2 years, 289 days  | 4 years, 110 days
4  | Sonia Gandhi | INC |  | 4 years, 98 days  | 4 years, 98 days
5  | C. M. Stephen | INC |  | 1 year, 88 days  | 1 year, 88 days
6  | Sharad Chandra Pawar | INC |  | 1 year, 38 days  | 1 year, 38 days
7  | Rahul Gandhi | INC |  | 1 year, 36 days | 1 year, 36 days
8  | Ram Subhag Singh | INC(O) |  | 1 year, 10 days  | 1 year, 10 days
9  | Rajiv Gandhi | INC |  | 1 year, 5 days  | 1 year, 5 days
10  | Yashwantrao Chavan | INC |  | 284 days  | 302 days
11  | Jagjivan Ram | JP |  | 24 days  | 24 days
12  | P. V. Narasimha Rao | INC |  | 15 days  | 15 days
–  | Vacant  |  –  |  –  | 10 years 117 days  | 26 years 321 days
–  | Not Recognised  |  –  |  –  | 22 years 130 days  | 22 years 130 days

Fraction of time of holding LoP by party (as of August 2025)

1. Bharatiya Janata Party (16 years 321 days) (21.65%)
2. Indian National Congress (9 years, 217 days) (13.79%)
3. Indian National Congress (Organisation) (1 year 10 days) (1.31%)
4. Janata Party (25 days) (0.0843%)
5. Vacant (34.48%)
6. Not Recognised (28.68%)

## Deputy leader of the opposition in Lok Sabha

[edit]

The deputy leader of the opposition in Lok Sabha (IAST: Lok Sabhā ke Vipakṣa ke Upar Netā) is an elected Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha who serves the deputy to opposition leader in the Lower House of the Parliament of India.

No.  | Portrait  | Name

(Birth–Death)

| Elected constituency  | Term of office[10] | Lok Sabha
(Election) | Political party  | Leader of the Opposition

|
|
|
|
|
|
|

Assumed office  | Left office  | Time in office
1  |  | Sushma Swaraj | Vidisha | 3 June 2009  | 21 December 2009  | 201 days  | 15th
(2009) | Bharatiya Janata Party |  | Lal Krishna Advani |
2  |  | Gopinath Munde | Beed | 22 December 2009  | 18 May 2014  | 4 years, 147 days  | Sushma Swaraj
3  |  | Gaurav Gogoi | Jorhat | 14 July 2024  | Incumbent | 1 year, 1 day  | 18th

(2024)

| Indian National Congress |  | Rahul Gandhi |

## See also

[edit]

* Vice-President of India (Chairperson of the Rajya Sabha)
* Deputy Chairperson of the Rajya Sabha
* Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha
* Leader of the House in Rajya Sabha
* Leader of the House in Lok Sabha
* Secretary General of the Lok Sabha

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "Who is Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha? A look at powers and possible candidates this time". Livemint. Retrieved 28 June 2024.
2. ^ "Rahul Gandhi as LoP after 10 years: 'Shadow PM' powers in Lok Sabha explained". India Today. 28 June 2024. Retrieved 28 June 2024.
3. ^ "What powers will Rahul Gandhi have in Lok Sabha as Leader of Opposition?". Hindustani Times. Retrieved 28 June 2024.
4. ^ "Rahul Gandhi debuts as Leader of Opposition: What perks and powers will he enjoy?". Financialexpress. 26 June 2024. Retrieved 10 April 2025.
5. ^ "Lok Sabha". Archived from the original on 21 May 2014. Retrieved 17 November 2013.
6. ^ "Rahul Gandhi's big test as India's opposition leader". www.bbc.com. Retrieved 27 June 2024.
7. ^ a b "No leader of oppn? There wasn't any in Nehru, Indira, Rajiv days". Rediff. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
8. ^ "Narendra Modi government will not have Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha again". India Today.
9. ^ "Rahul Gandhi chosen as Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha". Hindustan Times. 26 June 2024. Archived from the original on 20 September 2024. Retrieved 31 January 2025.
10. ^ The ordinal number of the term being served by the person specified in the row in the corresponding period

## Further reading

[edit]

* Manisha, M. (2010–2011), Parliamentary Efficacy and the Role of the Opposition: A Comparative Study of the 2nd and 14th Lok Sabha (PDF), Rajya Sabha Fellowship for Parliamentary Studies, rajyasabha.nic.in

* v
* t
* e

Leaders of the opposition in the Lok Sabha

* Ram Subhag Singh
* Yashwantrao Chavan
* C. M. Stephen
* Jagjivan Ram
* Rajiv Gandhi
* Lal Krishna Advani
* Atal Bihari Vajpayee
* P. V. Narasimha Rao
* Sharadchandra Pawar
* Sonia Gandhi
* Sushma Swaraj
* Rahul Gandhi

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Lists of opposition leaders in Indian parliament, legislative assemblies and legislative councils (and current incumbents)

* Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha: Rahul Gandhi
* Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha: Mallikarjun Kharge

| Andhra
Pradesh|

| LA|

Vacant

|

LC|

Botsa Satyanarayana

Arunachal
Pradesh|

Vacant

Assam|

Debabrata Saikia

Bihar|

| LA|

Tejashwi Yadav

|

LC|

Rabri Devi

Chhattisgarh|

Charan Das Mahant

Delhi|

Atishi Marlena

Goa|

Yuri Alemao

Gujarat|

Vacant

Haryana|

Bhupinder Singh Hooda

Himachal
Pradesh|

Jai Ram Thakur

| Jammu and
Kashmir|

TBD

|

Jharkhand|

Amar Kumar Bauri

Karnataka|

| LA|

R. Ashoka

|

LC|

Chalavadi Narayanaswamy

Kerala|

V. D. Satheesan

Madhya
Pradesh|

Umang Singhar

Maharashtra|

| LA|

Vacant

|

LC|

Ambadas Danve

Manipur|

Vacant

Meghalaya|

Mukul Sangma

Mizoram|

Lalchhandama Ralte

Nagaland|

Vacant

| Odisha|

Naveen Patnaik

|

Puducherry|

R. Siva

Punjab|

Partap Singh Bajwa

Rajasthan|

Tika Ram Jully

Sikkim|

Vacant

Tamil Nadu|

Edappadi K. Palaniswami

Telangana|

| LA|

K. Chandrashekar Rao

|

LC|

S. Madhusudhana Chary

Tripura|

Jitendra Choudhury

Uttar
Pradesh|

| LA|

Mata Prasad Pandey

|

LC|

Lal Bihari Yadav

Uttarakhand|

Yashpal Arya

West
Bengal|

Suvendu Adhikari
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