Bharatpedia

Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha


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).

Leader of the Opposition in
Lok Sabha
Lok Sabhā ke Vipakṣa ke Netā
Emblem of India.svg
Emblem of India
Incumbent
Vacant
since 20 May 2014
ResidenceNew Delhi
AppointerWhile 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)
Term length5 years
Inaugural holderRam Subhag Singh (1969–1970)
Websiterajyasabha.nic.in

HistoryEdit

In Lok Sabha until 1969, there was 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 was extended by the Act, 1977. Since then, the leader in the Lok 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 Speaker of the Lok Sabha

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

Leaders of the Opposition in the Lok SabhaEdit

The Lok Sabha did not recognise an official Leader of the Opposition until 1969. The position was also vacant between 1980 and 1989 and at present, since 2014.[1]

No. Name Portrait Tenure Lok Sabha Party Prime Minister of India
Name Party
1 Ram Subhag Singh   17 December 1969 27 December 1970 1 year, 10 days 4th Indian National Congress (O) bgcolor="Template:Indian National Congress (Organisation)/meta/color" |
– Vacant  – 27 December 1970 30 June 1977 5th No official opposition
2 Yashwantrao Chavan   1 July 1977 11 April 1978 284 days 6th Indian National Congress
3 C. M. Stephen   12 April 1978 9 July 1979 1 year, 88 days
(2) Yashwantrao Chavan   10 July 1979 28 July 1979 18 days
4 Jagjivan Ram   29 July 1979 22 August 1979 24 days Janata Party
– Vacant  – 22 August 1979 31 December 1984 7th No official opposition[2]
 – 31 December 1984 18 December 1989 8th
5 Rajiv Gandhi   18 December 1989 23 December 1990 1 year, 5 days 9th Indian National Congress
6 L. K. Advani   24 December 1990 13 March 1991 2 years, 214 days Bharatiya Janata Party
21 June 1991 26 July 1993 10th
7 Atal Bihari Vajpayee   21 July 1993 10 May 1996 2 years, 289 days
8 P. V. Narasimha Rao 16 May 1996 31 May 1996 15 days 11th Indian National Congress
(7) Atal Bihari Vajpayee   1 June 1996 4 December 1997 1 year, 186 days Bharatiya Janata Party
9 Sharad Pawar   19 March 1998 26 April 1999 1 year, 38 days 12th Indian National Congress Atal Bihari Vajpayee Bharatiya Janata Party
10 Sonia Gandhi   31 October 1999 6 February 2004 4 years, 98 days 13th
(6) L. K. Advani   21 May 2004 18 May 2009 4 years, 362 days 14th Bharatiya Janata Party Manmohan Singh Indian National Congress
11 Sushma Swaraj   21 December 2009 19 May 2014 4 years, 149 days 15th
– Vacant  – 20 May 2014 29 May 2019 16th No official opposition because no party obtained at least 10% of the seats. Narendra Modi Bharatiya Janata Party
 – 30 May 2019 present 17th

See alsoEdit

ReferencesEdit

  1. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 21 May 2014. Retrieved 17 November 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. ↑ "No leader of oppn? There wasn't any in Nehru, Indira, Rajiv days". Rediff. Retrieved 6 October 2020.

Further readingEdit

Template:Leaders of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha

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