Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha

Elected member who leads the official opposition in the Upper House of the Parliament of India

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

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Leader of the Opposition in
Rajya Sabha

Rājya Sabhā ke Vipakṣa ke Netā

Emblem of India

Incumbent
Mallikarjun Kharge

since 16 February 2021

Residence| New Delhi
Appointer| While parliamentary chairperson of the largest political party in the Rajya Sabha that is not in government
Term length| 5 years
Inaugural holder| Shyam Nandan Prasad Mishra (1969–1971)
Deputy| Pramod Tiwari, INC
(13 March 2023-Incumbent)
Salary| ₹330,000 (US$4,000)
(excl. allowances) per month
Website| rajyasabha.nic.in

The Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha (IAST: Rājya Sabhā ke Vipakṣa ke Netā) is an elected Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha who leads the official opposition in the Upper House of the Parliament of India. The Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha is the parliamentary chairperson of the largest political party in the Rajya Sabha that is not in government.

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

## History

[edit]

In the Rajya Sabha until 1969, the title of opposition leader only existed de facto and had no formal recognition, status or privilege. Later, the leader of the opposition was given official recognition and their salary and allowances was extended by the Act, 1977. Since then, the leader in the Rajya Sabha should satisfy three conditions, namely,

1. he should be a member of the House
2. of the party in opposition to the Government having the greatest numerical strength and
3. be recognised by the Chairperson of the Rajya Sabha

In December 1969, the Congress Party (O) was recognised as the main opposition party in the parliament while its leader, Shyam Nandan Mishra plays the role of opposition leader. M. S. Gurupadaswamy was later elected the leader of opposition in the Rajya Sabha after Shyam Nandan Prasad Mishra completed his tenure. However, Gurupadaswamy's appointment was declared with no formal announcement.

## Role and responsibilities

[edit]

Further information: Official Opposition (India)

The Leader of Opposition (LoP) looks at government policies formulated for the rights of minorities and demands debate and criticises the government if ruling party tries to avoid debates on such policy. LoP also debates on the country's foreign relations and trade when it poses security threats on the national security.[1][2]

## Privileges and salary

[edit]

Opposition leaders plays a significant role in government policies and their implementation by the ruling party. Sometimes, opposition leaders questions government about the country's national security and development.[3] After the constitution of India created a separate law on 1 November 1977 for opposition leaders, the salary was extended.[4]

## List of leaders of the opposition in Rajya Sabha

[edit]

Following members have been the leaders of the opposition in the Rajya Sabha.

No. | Portrait  | Name
(born - died)
Constituency | Term of office  | Political party  | Government  | Leader of House  | Chairman
(Tenure)

|
|
|
|
|
|
|

No official opposition (13 May 1952 - 17 December 1969)
1  |  |  | Shyam Nandan Prasad Mishra
(1920–2004)
MP for Bihar | 18 December
1969  | 11 March
1971  | 1 year, 83 days | Indian National Congress (O) | Indira II | Kodardas Kalidas Shah |  | Gopal Swarup Pathak
(1969–1974)
2  |  |  | M. S. Gurupadaswamy
(1924–2011)
MP for Uttar Pradesh | 24 March
1971  | 2 April
1972  | 1 year, 9 days | Indira III | Uma Shankar Dikshit |
No official opposition (2 April 1972 - 30 March 1977)
3  |  |  | Kamalapati Tripathi
(1905–1990)
MP for Uttar Pradesh | 30 March
1977  | 15 February
1978  | 322 days | Indian National Congress (R) | Desai | L. K. Advani |  | B. D. Jatti
(1974–1979)
4  |  |  | Bhola Paswan Shastri
(1914–1990)
MP for Bihar | 24 February
1978  | 23 March
1978  | 27 days
(3)  |  |  | Kamalapati Tripathi
(1905–1990)
MP for Uttar Pradesh | 23 March
1978  | 8 January
1980  | 1 year, 291 days
Indian National Congress (Urs) | Charan | K. C. Pant |  | Mohammad Hidayatullah
(1979–1984)
5  |  |  | L. K. Advani
(born 1927)
MP for Gujarat | 21 January
1980  | 7 April
1980  | 77 days | Janata Party | Indira III | Pranab Mukherjee |
No official opposition (7 April 1980 - 18 December 1989)
6  |  |  | P. Shiv Shankar
(1929–2017)
MP for Gujarat | 18 December
1989  | 2 January
1991  | 1 year, 15 days | Indian National Congress (I) | Vishwanath | M. S. Gurupadaswamy |  | Shankar Dayal Sharma
(1987–1992)
Chandra Shekhar | Yashwant Sinha |
(2)  |  |  | M. S. Gurupadaswamy
(1924–2011)
MP for Karnataka | 28 June
1991  | 21 July
1991  | 23 days | Janata Dal | Rao | Vacant
7  |  |  | S. Jaipal Reddy
(1942–2019)
MP for Andhra Pradesh | 22 July
1991  | 29 June
1992  | 343 days | Shankarrao Chavan |
8  |  |  | Sikander Bakht
(1918–2004)
MP for Madhya Pradesh | 7 July
1992  | 16 May
1996  | 3 years, 314 days | Bharatiya Janata Party
K. R. Narayanan
(1992–1997)
9  |  |  | Shankarrao Chavan
(1920–2004)
MP for Maharashtra | 23 May
1996  | 1 June
1996  | 9 days | Indian National Congress | Vajpayee I | Sikander Bakht |
(8)  |  |  | Sikander Bakht
(1918–2004)
MP for Madhya Pradesh | 1 June
1996  | 19 March
1998  | 1 year, 291 days | Bharatiya Janata Party | Deve Gowda | Inder Kumar Gujral |
H. D. Deve Gowda |
Gujral | Inder Kumar Gujral |
Krishan Kant
(1997–2002)
10  |  |  | Manmohan Singh
(born 1932)
MP for Assam | 19 March
1998  | 22 May
2004  | 6 years, 64 days | Indian National Congress | Vajpayee II | Sikander Bakht |
Vajpayee III | Jaswant Singh |
Bhairon Singh Shekhawat
(2002–2007)
11  |  |  | Jaswant Singh
(1938–2020)
MP for Rajasthan | 3 June
2004  | 16 May
2009  | 4 years, 347 days | Bharatiya Janata Party | Manmohan I | Manmohan Singh |
Mohammad Hamid Ansari
(2007–2017)
12  |  |  | Arun Jaitley
(1952–2019)
MP for Gujarat | 3 June
2009  | 26 May
2014  | 4 years, 357 days | Manmohan II
13  |  |  | Ghulam Nabi Azad
(born 1949)
MP for Jammu and Kashmir | 8 June
2014  | 10 February
2015  | 6 years, 252 days | Indian National Congress | Modi I | Arun Jaitley |
23 February
2015  | 15 February
2021
M. Venkaiah Naidu
(2017–2022)
Modi II | Thawar Chand Gehlot |
14  |  |  | Mallikarjun Kharge
(born 1942)
MP for Karnataka | 16 February
2021  | Incumbent | 3 years, 232 days
Piyush Goyal |
Jagdeep Dhankhar
(2022–present)
Modi III | J. P. Nadda |

## Deputy leaders of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha

[edit]

No. | Portrait  | Name
(born - died)
Constituency | Term of office  | Political party  | Leader of Opposition

|
|
|
|
|

1  |  |  | S. S. Ahluwalia
(born 1951)
MP for Jharkhand | 3 June
2009  | 2 April
2012  | 2 years, 304 days | Bharatiya Janata Party |  | Arun Jaitley
2  |  |  | Ravi Shankar Prasad
(born 1954)
MP for Bihar | 20 July
2012  | 26 May
2014  | 1 year, 310 days
3  |  |  | Anand Sharma
(born 1953)
MP for Himachal Pradesh | 8 June
2014  | 2 April
2022  | 7 years, 298 days | Indian National Congress |  | Ghulam Nabi Azad
| Mallikarjun Kharge
Interim |  |  | P. Chidambaram
(born 1945)
MP for Maharashtra (till Jun'22)
MP for Tamil Nadu (from Jun'22) | 3 April
2022  | 13 March
2023  | 344 days
4  |  |  | Pramod Tiwari
(born 1952)
MP for Rajasthan | 13 March
2023  | Incumbent | 1 year, 206 days

## See also

[edit]

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

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Leader of Opposition: His role and responsibilities – India News". Latest News India. 17 June 2019. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
2. ^ "Rajya Sabha – Role of The Leader of The House, Leader of the Opposition and Whips Brief History". rajyasabha.nic.in.
3. ^ Kumar, Sanjay. "Why India Needs an Opposition Leader". thediplomat.com.
4. ^ Salary and other suitable facilities are extended to them through a separate legislation brought into force on 1 November 1977

## 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 Rajya Sabha

* Shyam Nandan Prasad Mishra
* M. S. Gurupadaswamy
* Kamalapati Tripathi
* Bhola Paswan Shastri
* L. K. Advani
* P. Shiv Shankar
* Jaipal Reddy
* Sikander Bakht
* Shankarrao Chavan
* Manmohan Singh
* Jaswant Singh
* Arun Jaitley
* Ghulam Nabi Azad
* Mallikarjun Kharge (incumbent)

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*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template