The chorus for Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to assume the role of the Leader of Opposition has grown with his party emerging much stronger in the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections. Congress leaders are of a unanimous view that Rahul, who led the party to a spectacular comeback in the elections, should take up the larger responsibility and lead the Opposition in the Lower House.
However, the Congress has left the final decision on his role to Rahul Gandhi, just like it did on contesting from the Raebareli seat beside Wayanad. The demand that Rahul take up the LoP post isn’t new – Congress leaders had rallied behind him in 2014 as well as in 2019. However, Rahul apparently turned down the decision since the Congress did not have the required numbers to claim the post of the Leader of Opposition.
Following the party’s loss in 2014, it was Mallikarjun Kharge who held the post of ‘Leader of Congress’ and led the 44 MPs in the Lower House. After the Congress’ tally of 52 seats in 2019, the baton was passed on to Adhir Ranjan Choudhury.
However, with the Congress making significant gains in the 2024 polls and almost doubling its tally to 99, excluding two rebels, the party is now eligible to claim the post and is keen that Rahul shoulder the responsibility.
In the past few years, Rahul has emerged as the key Opposition face challenging Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the symbolism of Rahul as LoP would add to the narrative. One, it would establish Congress as the undisputable challenger to the BJP on the national level.
Second, it would also help rebrand Rahul as a serious politician who isn’t averse to accepting roles that require routine work and attendance. After the 2019 polls, one of the reasons behind Rahul refusing to accept the Leader of Congress post since he was the party president at the time.
However, he stepped down soon after the poll debacle. This time, there is no baggage that Rahul can allude to in order to side-step this important responsibility. The Congress has also run out of options since Kharge is already the party president now and there aren’t any tall leaders in the Congress who can take this responsibility that can send the right message to the government, the nation as well as the Opposition parties.