View source for Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha

{{Short description|Elected Member of Lok Sabha who leads the official opposition in the Lower House of the Parliament of India}}
{{more citations needed|date=March 2021}}
{{Use Indian English|date=February 2021}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2021}}
{{Infobox Political post
| post = Leader of the Opposition in<br>Lok Sabha
| native_name = {{lang|hi-Latn|Lok Sabhā ke Vipakṣa ke Netā}}
| insignia = Emblem_of_India.svg
| insigniasize = 50px
| insigniacaption = Emblem of India
| image = 
| incumbent = Vacant
| incumbentsince = 20 May 2014
| style = 
| imagesize = 
| termlength = 5 years
| appointer = While parliamentary chairperson of the largest political party in the Lok Sabha that is not in government<br>(provided that said political party has at least 10% of the seats in the Lok Sabha)
| residence = [[New Delhi]]
| formation = 
| succession = 
| salary = 
| inaugural = [[Ram Subhag Singh]] {{small|(1969–1970)}}
| website = {{url|http://rajyasabha.nic.in}}
}}
The '''Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha''' ([[International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration|IAST]]: {{lang|hi-Latn|Lok Sabhā ke Vipakṣa ke Netā}}) is an elected [[Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha|Member of Lok Sabha]] who leads the [[Official Opposition (India)|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 of India|government]] (provided that said political party has at least 10% of the seats in the Lok Sabha).

==History==
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,

# he should be a member of the House 
# of the party in opposition to the Government having the greatest numerical strength and
# 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 Sabha ==
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.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://legislativebodiesinindia.nic.in/LS/ataglace.htm |title=Archived copy |access-date=17 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140521205101/http://legislativebodiesinindia.nic.in/LS/ataglace.htm |archive-date=21 May 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!  rowspan ="2" |No.
!  rowspan ="2" |Name
!  rowspan ="2" |Portrait
!  rowspan ="2" colspan="3" |Tenure
! rowspan ="2" |[[Lok Sabha]]
! rowspan ="2" colspan="2" |Party
! colspan="3" |[[Prime Minister of India]]
|-
! Name
! colspan="2" |Party
|-
| 1
! [[Ram Subhag Singh]]
| [[File:Ram_Subhag_Singh.jpg|border|106x106px]]
| 17 December 1969
| 27 December 1970
|{{Ayd|17 december 1969|27 december 1970}}
|[[4th Lok Sabha|4th]]
| [[Indian National Congress (O)]]
| bgcolor="{{Indian National Congress (Organisation)/meta/color}}" |
|-
| –
| ''Vacant''
| {{dash}}
| 27 December 1970
| 30 June 1977
|
|[[5th Lok Sabha|5th]]
| No official opposition
|
|-
| 2
! [[Yashwantrao Chavan]]
| [[File:Y_B_Chavan_(cropped).jpg|border|100x100px]]
| 1 July 1977
| 11 April 1978
|{{Ayd|1 july 1977|11 april 1978}}
| rowspan="4" |[[6th Lok Sabha|6th]]
| rowspan="3" | [[Indian National Congress]]
| rowspan="3" bgcolor="{{Indian National Congress/meta/color}}" ; |
|-
| 3
! [[C. M. Stephen]]
| [[File:No_image_available.svg|border|100x100px]]
| 12 April 1978
| 9 July 1979
|{{Ayd|12 april 1978|9 july 1979}}
|-
| (2)
! [[Yashwantrao Chavan]]
| [[File:Y_B_Chavan_(cropped).jpg|border|100x100px]]
| 10 July 1979
| 28 July 1979
|{{Ayd|10 july 1979|28 july 1979}}
|-
| 4
! [[Jagjivan Ram]]
| [[File:Jagjivan_Ram_(cropped).jpg|border|100x100px]]
| 29 July 1979
| 22 August 1979
|{{Ayd|29 july 1979|22 august 1979}}
| [[Janata Party]]
| bgcolor="{{Janata Party/meta/color}}" |
|-
| rowspan="2" | –
| rowspan="2" |''Vacant''
| {{dash}}
| 22 August 1979
| 31 December 1984
|
|[[7th Lok Sabha|7th]]
| rowspan="2" | No official opposition<ref name="rediff1">{{Cite web|title=No leader of oppn? There wasn't any in Nehru, Indira, Rajiv days|url=https://www.rediff.com/news/column/ls-election-no-leader-of-oppn-there-wasnt-any-in-nehru-indira-rajiv-days/20140523.htm|access-date=2020-10-06|website=Rediff|language=en}}</ref>
| rowspan="2" |
|-
|{{dash}}
| 31 December 1984
| 18 December 1989
|
|[[8th Lok Sabha|8th]]
|-
| 5
! [[Rajiv Gandhi]]
| [[File:Rajiv_Gandhi_(1987).jpg|border|100x100px]]
| 18 December 1989
| 23 December 1990
|{{Ayd|18 december 1989|23 december 1990}}
| rowspan="2" |[[9th Lok Sabha|9th]]
| [[Indian National Congress]]
| bgcolor="{{Indian National Congress/meta/color}}" |
|-
| rowspan="2" | 6
! rowspan="2" | [[L. K. Advani]]
| rowspan="2" |[[File:Lkadvani.jpg|border|100x100px]]
| 24 December 1990
| 13 March 1991
| rowspan="2" |{{Ayd|24 december 1990|26 july 1993}}
| rowspan="3" | [[Bharatiya Janata Party]]
| rowspan="3" bgcolor="{{Bharatiya Janata Party/meta/color}}" ; |
|-
| 21 June 1991
| 26 July 1993
| rowspan="2" |[[10th Lok Sabha|10th]]
|-
| 7
! [[Atal Bihari Vajpayee]]
| [[File:The_Prime_Minister_Shri_Atal_Bihari_Vajpayee_delivering_his_speech_at_the_12th_SAARC_Summit_in_Islamabad,_Pakistan_on_January_4,_2004_(1)_(cropped).jpg|border|100x100px]]
| 21 July 1993
| 10 May 1996
|{{Ayd|26 july 1993|10 may 1996}}
|-
| 8
! [[P. V. Narasimha Rao]]
| 
| 16 May 1996
| 31 May 1996
|{{Ayd|16 may 1996|31 may 1996}}
| rowspan="2" |[[11th Lok Sabha|11th]]
| [[Indian National Congress]]
| bgcolor="{{Indian National Congress/meta/color}}" |
|-
| (7)
! [[Atal Bihari Vajpayee]]
| [[File:The_Prime_Minister_Shri_Atal_Bihari_Vajpayee_delivering_his_speech_at_the_12th_SAARC_Summit_in_Islamabad,_Pakistan_on_January_4,_2004_(1)_(cropped).jpg|border|100x100px]]
| 1 June 1996
| 4 December 1997
|{{Ayd|1 june 1996|4 december 1997}}
| [[Bharatiya Janata Party]]
| bgcolor="{{Bharatiya Janata Party/meta/color}}" |
|-
| 9
! [[Sharad Pawar]]
| [[File:Sharad_Govindrao_Pawar.jpg|border|75x75px]]
| 19 March 1998
| 26 April 1999
|{{Ayd|19 march 1998|26 april 1999}}
|[[12th Lok Sabha|12th]]
| rowspan="2" | [[Indian National Congress]]
| rowspan="2" bgcolor="{{Indian National Congress/meta/color}}" ; |
|  rowspan ="2" |[[Atal Bihari Vajpayee]]
|  rowspan ="2" |[[Bharatiya Janata Party]]
|  rowspan ="2" bgcolor="{{Bharatiya Janata Party/meta/color}}" ; |
|-
| 10
! [[Sonia Gandhi]]
| [[File:Sonia_Gandhi_(cropped).jpg|border|100x100px]]
| 31 October 1999
| 6 February 2004
|{{Ayd|31 october 1999|6 february 2004}}
|[[13th Lok Sabha|13th]]
|-
| (6)
! [[L. K. Advani]]
| [[File:Lkadvani.jpg|border|100x100px]]
| 21 May 2004
| 18 May 2009
|{{Ayd|21 may 2004|18 may 2009}}
|[[14th Lok Sabha|14th]]
| rowspan="2" | [[Bharatiya Janata Party]]
| rowspan="2" bgcolor="{{Bharatiya Janata Party/meta/color}}" ; |
|  rowspan ="2" |[[Manmohan Singh]]
|  rowspan ="2" |[[Indian National Congress]]
|  rowspan ="2" bgcolor="{{Indian National Congress/meta/color}}" ; |
|-
| 11
! [[Sushma Swaraj]]
|[[File:Sushma_Swaraj_in_2014.jpg|border|98x98px]]
| 21 December 2009
| 19 May 2014
|{{Ayd|21 december 2009|19 may 2014}}
|[[15th Lok Sabha|15th]]
|-
| rowspan="2" | –
| rowspan="2" | ''Vacant''
| {{dash}}
| 20 May 2014
| 29 May 2019
|
|[[16th Lok Sabha|16th]]
| rowspan="2" | No official opposition because no party obtained at least 10% of the seats.
| rowspan="2" |
|  rowspan ="2" |[[Narendra Modi]]
|  rowspan ="2" |[[Bharatiya Janata Party]]
|  rowspan ="2" bgcolor="{{Bharatiya Janata Party/meta/color}}" ; |
|-
| {{dash}}
| 30 May 2019
| present
|
|[[17th Lok Sabha|17th]]
|}

==See also==

* [[Vice President of India]] (Chairperson of the Rajya Sabha)
* [[Deputy Chairman 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]]

==References==
{{reflist}}
== Further reading ==
* {{Citation|last=Manisha|first=M.|title=Parliamentary Efficacy and the Role of the Opposition: A Comparative Study of the 2nd and 14th Lok Sabha|date=2010-2011|url=https://rajyasabha.nic.in/rsnew/fellowship/PARLIAMENTARY_EFFICACY.pdf|others=Rajya Sabha Fellowship for Parliamentary Studies|publisher=rajyasabha.nic.in}}
{{Leaders of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha}}

[[Category:Lists of members of the Lok Sabha]]
[[Category:Leaders of the Opposition (India)|Leaders of the Opposition]]
[[Category:Opposition leaders]]