Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha

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.

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]

The leader of opposition is a statutory post and officially recognized in “The Salary and Allowances of Leaders of Opposition in Parliament Act, 1977”.^[1]

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]

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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	23 March 1977	12 April 1978	1 year, 18 days	6th	Morarji Desai	Indian National Congress (R)
3		C. M. Stephen	Idukki	12 April 1978	10 July 1979	1 year, 89 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	24 December 1990	1 year, 6 days	9th	VP Singh	Indian National Congress (I)
6		L. K. Advani	New Delhi	24 December 1990	13 March 1991	2 years, 213 days		Chandra Shekhar	Bharatiya Janata Party
			Gandhinagar	21 June 1991	25 July 1993		10th	P. V. Narasimha Rao
7		Atal Bihari Vajpayee	Lucknow	26 July 1993	10 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	05 December 1997	26 April 1999	1 year, 38 days	12th	Atal Bihari Vajpayee	Indian National Congress
10		Sonia Gandhi	Amethi	13 October 1999	6 February 2004	4 years, 116 days	13th
(6)		L. K. Advani	Gandhinagar	22 May 2004	21 December 2009	5 years, 213 days	14th	Manmohan Singh	Bharatiya Janata Party
11		Sushma Swaraj	Vidisha	21 December 2009	18 May 2014	4 years, 148 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	Rae Bareli	9 June 2024	Incumbent	1 year, 328 days	18th		Indian National Congress[9]

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Deputy leader of the opposition in Lok Sabha

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.

More information No., Portrait ...

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, 293 days	18th (2024)	Indian National Congress		Rahul Gandhi

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• Vice-President of India (Chairman 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