Sonia to be Leader of Opposition
Vacates Bellary seat
Tribune News Service

NEW DELHI, Oct 19 — The Congress President, Mrs Sonia Gandhi today decided to hold the post of the Leader of Opposition in the 13th Lok Sabha and also decided to resign from Bellary constituency.

The decision of Mrs Gandhi, who was re-elected as Chairperson of the Congress Party in Parliament (CPP) on October 12 was announced today by the Congress spokesman Mr Ajit Jogi.

With this speculation as to who would be the Leader of the Opposition ended and Mrs Gandhi will begin her role in the newly constituted House whose first session begins tomorrow.

Mrs Gandhi, who was elected to the 13th Lok Sabha from two constituencies, Bellary in Karnataka and Amethi in Uttar Pradesh, decided to represent the latter.

Her decision to quit Bellary was communicated to the Lok Sabha Speaker, Mr G M C Balayogi a couple of days ago and he got it confirmed before accepting her resignation. A formal announcement to this effect is expected to be made in the House tomorrow, Lok Sabha sources said.

As per rules, any person elected from more than one constituency should decide to retain any one and quit from others within 15 days of the elections. With Mrs Gandhi’s resignation from Bellary, the effective strength of the Congress, the principal opposition party in the Lok Sabha, will be lowest ever with 111 MPs.

Apparently, the Congress President, who filed her nomination papers from Bellary in a dramatic manner on the last day, decided to resign keeping in view the need to revive the party in Uttar Pradesh.

She was elected from Bellary with a margin of over 55,000 votes against Mrs Sushma Swaraj of the BJP in a high-profile battle of the ballot, while in Amethi she won by over three lakh votes, one of the highest by any candidate in this general election. She defeated Dr Sanjay Singh of the BJP.

With the electoral fortunes of the Congress party showing an upswing in Uttar Pradesh, many in the organisation were of the opinion that retaining the Amethi Lok Sabha constituency would enthuse the party rank and file.

The Congress has also to start preparations in earnest for the Assembly poll which should be held in two years time, if not called earlier.

From tomorrow, Mrs Gandhi will have to shoulder greater responsibility in her new role as the Leader of the Opposition, a position that also accords her a rank of a Cabinet Minister.

Now the focus shifts on who would become the Deputy Leader of the Opposition. Although Mr Narain Dutt Tiwari, is the senior most the fact that he too represents Uttar Pradesh may come in the way.

The CPP Chairperson would need to have an effective deputy leader to share the heavy work that comes with the office.

Apart from taking part in meetings of all floor leaders on a regular basis during the session, the Leader of the Opposition has to take part in debates and discussions in the House and be the voice of the Opposition.

Since Mrs Gandhi plans to re-organise the AICC and concentrate on building up the party, she would require to devote greater time to party work in addition to the new responsibility.

There was considerable pressure from a large section of the CPP who wanted her to assume the role.

There are reports that Mr Madhav Rao Scindia could be the choice for the deputy leader’s post. That would mean the party would have to accommodate a leader from the South in the CPP, probably as the whip.

The CPP Chairperson is also understood not to have accepted the resignation of Dr Manmohan Singh as the floor leader of the Rajya Sabha.