YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) chief and former Andhra Chief Minister on Wednesday filed a petition in the Andhra Pradesh High Court seeking to be appointed as the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Assembly.
Jagan’s move comes after Speaker Ayannapatrudu in February denied his request citing that the YSRCP did not have the requisite numbers – 10% — in the 175-member House to be given the LoP’s post. The YSRCP has only 11 MLAs, while it requires a minimum of 17.
The post, established under the Salaries and Allowances of Leaders of Opposition in Parliament Act, 1977, does not make a specific mention of the required numbers for it. The Act says: “The Leader of the Opposition, in relation to either House of Parliament, means that member of the Council of States or the House of the People, as the case may be, who is, for the time being, the Leader in that House of the party in opposition to the government having the greatest numerical strength and recognised as such by the Chairman of the Council of States or the Speaker of the House of the People, as the case may be.”
However, as per practice, in the Lok Sabha and the Assemblies, a party needs to have one-tenth of the strength of the House to lay claim to the LoP post.
Most recently, in the Lok Sabha, there was no LoP for two terms (2014-2019, and 2019-2024) as the second largest party, Congress, could not win one-tenth of the House’s strength of 543 seats, with the BJP winning with big majorities.
A look at the states where the LoP’s post has been lying vacant.
Arunachal Pradesh: The NDA, comprising the BJP, National Peoples Party (NPP), Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Peoples Party of Arunachal, collectively won 56 of the state’s 60 seats in last year’s Assembly polls.
With no other party managing to win 10% of the seats, in this case only 6, the LoP post has been lying vacant.
Maharashtra: The massive victory of the Mahayuti – comprising the BJP, NCP and Shiv Sena – which won 235 of the state’s 288 seats, means no other single party has the numbers for the LoP’s post. The three Maha Vikas Aghadi allies – the Shiv Sena (UBT), NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) and Congress – however, have been laying claim saying that jointly they have 46 seats, much more than the minimal limit of 29.
But the Speaker has so far not agreed to this reasoning.
Manipur: The NDA (BJP: 37, NPP: 6, NPF: 5, JDU: 1) collectively won 49 of the state’s 60 seats in the 2022 Assembly polls. With the Congress not managing 10% of the strength in the House, that is 6, the LoP’s position has been vacant. The Congress won 5 seats, one less thn the required 6.
The state, which has been gripped by violence since May 2023, has been under President’s Rule since February.
Gujarat: In the 2022 elections, the BJP won 156 of the state’s 182 seats, leaving the Congress reeling with 17 seats, one short of the requisite number needed to stake claim to the LoP’s post.
Nagaland: The LoP’s post is vacant since all MLAs in the state have extended unconditional support to the Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP)-BJP combine, which collectively won 37 seats, with other NDA allies like the NCP, NPP, LJP (Ram Vilas), NPF, RPI(Athawale) and JD(U) collectively winning 19 seats. Four Independents who won the 2022 polls later extended support to the NDPP-BJP combine.
Sikkim: The post has been vacant as the the Prem Singh Tamang-led Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) won 31 of the state’s 32 seats in last year’s Assembly polls, leaving a single seat for the Pawan Chamling-led Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF).
Haryana: In this case, the post is lying vacant as the Congress, which won 37 of the 90 seats – that is, much more than the required 9 – is yet to choose a leader for the post a year after the results. Internal rift among leaders is seen as one of the key reasons for the party’s failure to zero in on a candidate for the post.