With 99 seats in the Lok Sabha amid a strong showing by INDIA bloc in the general elections, the Congress is now entitled to claim the post of Leader of Opposition in the parliament. As a result, clamours are growing louder for Rahul Gandhi to take up the coveted post.
Earlier in the day, Congress MP-elect Manickam Tagore in a post on X urged the former party president to be the leader of Congress in the lower house.
“I sought votes on the name of my leader, Rahul Gandhi. I think he should be the Leader of Congress in the Lok Sabha. I hope elected Congress MPs also think the same. Let’s see how the Congress Parliamentary Party decides. We are a Democratic Party,” Tagore, who won from Virudhunagar in Tamil Nadu, said.
ALSO READ: How Rahul Gandhi turned the tide in favour of Congress, INDIA bloc alliance
Congress Rajya Sabha MP Vivek Tankha also echoed the same sentiments, saying,”Rahul ji led the campaign frontally. He was the face. He is duty bound to take on the mantle of Lok Sabha parliamentary party leadership. @RahulGandhi cannot take all decisions about himself. Some decisions the party leaders / MPs have to take. Surely will be a unanimous choice.”
Congress leader Karti Chidambaram said,”…I think the slot will come to the Congress. In my personal opinion, Rahul Gandhi himself must take up the leader of opposition on behalf of Congress.”
Rahul Gandhi, who had stepped down as the Congress president after the grand old party’s drubbing in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, is being credited by the party for the stunning comeback in 2024.
ALSO READ: Rahul Gandhi never stopped fighting for truth, says Priyanka Gandhi
Not just Congress leaders, even Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut praised Gandhi. “If Rahul Gandhi is ready to accept the leadership, why would we object? He has proven himself as a national leader for multiple times. He is one of the popular leaders. We all want him and love him. There is no objection and difference in the alliance,” Raut said at a press conference.
Ever since he made his political debut in 2004, the 53-year-old leader has not held any constitutional post even when his party was in power.
Last year he was expelled from Parliament due to a defamation case after the BJP accused him of mocking the prime minister’s surname. He was later returned to his seat by the Supreme Court.