List of leaders of the opposition in the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly

Leader of the opposition in the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly
Emblem of Andhra Pradesh
Incumbent Vacant since 12 June 2024
Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly
Style	The Honourable
Status	Leader of Opposition
Member of	Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly
Nominator	Member of the Official Opposition in the Assembly
Appointer	Speaker of the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly
Formation	1 November 1956;67 years ago (1956-11-01)
Website	www.aplegislature.org

The Leader of the opposition in the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly is the official leader of principal opposition party in assembly. The leader of opposition is given rank of cabinet minister and is entitled to draw monthly salary and other perks of the same rank. ^[1]

History

Location of the Andhra State (1953–1956) on the map of India.

The Andhra State, a precursor to the modern state of Andhra Pradesh, was established on 1 October 1953, following the Andhra movement. The formation of Andhra State was made possible by the Andhra State Act, which was passed in the Parliament of India in September 1953. This significant development was ignited by a determined fast led by Potti Sreeramulu, whose sacrifice ultimately catalyzed the demand for a new linguistic state.

The newly created Andhra State included 11 districts in the Telugu-speaking region of the Madras State, with Kurnool as its capital and a unicameral parliamentary system with a Legislative Assembly chamber. ^{[2] [3] [4] [5]}

Location of the Andhra Pradesh (1956–2014) on the map of India.

The Andhra Pradesh, colloquially referred to as United Andhra Pradesh, was officially established on 1 November 1956, through the enactment of the States Reorganisation Act in August 1956. This led to the dissolution of Hyderabad State, with its divisions becoming part of Mysore State and Bombay State. Concurrently, the integration of Telugu-speaking regions into Andhra State laid the foundation for the vibrant state of Andhra Pradesh with a bicameral parliamentary system consisting of Legislative Council and Legislative Assembly chambers. ^{[6] [7]}

Originally situated in Hyderabad, the capital later moved to Amaravati in 2017 following the implementation of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, which led to the formation of Telangana on 2 June 2014 and a reduction in the assembly constituencies from 294 to 175. Despite these significant boundary changes, the state continued to be recognised as Andhra Pradesh. ^{[8] [9]}

Location of the Andhra Pradesh (since 2014) on the map of India.

After the state reorganisation in 2014, Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy of YSR Congress party became the first leader of opposition in Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly followed by N. Chandrababu Naidu of Telugu Desam Party from 2019 to 2024.

N. Chandrababu Naidu is the longest serving leader of opposition. He served as leader of opposition for a period of 2004–2014 making him the last leader of opposition before the state bifurcation.

Eligibility

Official opposition is a term used in Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly to designate the political party which has secured the second largest number of seats in the assembly. In order to get formal recognition, the party must have at least 10% of the total membership of the Legislative Assembly. ^[10] A single party has to meet the 10% seat criterion, not an alliance. Many of the Indian state legislatures also follows this 10% rule while the rest of them prefer single largest opposition party according to the rules of their respective houses. But according to section 12B of payment of salaries, allowances, prevention of disqualification of MLA's in AP legislative assembly act, 10% of MLA's not required to be recognised as Leader of opposition or official oppostion party. The opposition party having more number of MLA's is recognised as official opposition or principal opposition party and the MLA's elect their leader is Leader of opposition in Andhra Pradesh legislative assembly

Role

The opposition's main role is to question the government of the day and hold them accountable to the public. The opposition is equally responsible in upholding the best interests of the people of the country. They have to ensure that the Government does not take any steps, which might have negative effects on the people of the country. ^[11]

The role of the opposition in legislature is basically to check the excesses of the ruling or dominant party, and not to be totally antagonistic. There are actions of the ruling party which may be beneficial to the masses and opposition is expected to support such steps. ^[12]

In legislature, opposition party has a major role and must act to discourage the party in power from acting against the interests of the country and the common man. They are expected to alert the population and the Government on the content of any bill, which is not in the best interests of the country.

List of leaders of the opposition

#	Portrait		Leader of the opposition (Lifespan) Constituency	Term of the office		Election (Assembly)	Party
1			Puchalapalli Sundarayya (1913–1985) MLA for Gannavaram	1955	1956	1955 (1st)	Communist Party of India
				1957	1962	1957 (2nd)
2		–	Tarimela Nagi Reddy (1917–1976) MLA for Puttur	1962	1967	1962 (3rd)
3			Gouthu Latchanna (1909–2006) MLA for Sompeta	1967	1972	1967 (4th)	Swatantra Party
–	–		Vacant	1972	1978	1972 (5th)	–
(3)			Gouthu Latchanna (1909–2006) MLA for Sompeta	1978	1983	1978 (6th)	Janata Party
4		–	Mogaligundla Baga Reddy (1930–2004) MLA for Zahirabad	1983	1984	1983 (7th)	Indian National Congress
				1985	1989	1985 (8th)
5			Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao (1923–1996) MLA for Hindupuram	1989	1994	1989 (9th)	Telugu Desam Party
–	–		Vacant	1994	1999	1994 (10th)	–
6			Yeduguri Sandinti Rajasekhara Reddy (1949–2009) MLA for Pulivendula	11 October 1999	13 May 2004	1999 (11th)	Indian National Congress
7			Nara Chandrababu Naidu (born 1950) MLA for Kuppam	May 2004	May 2009	2004 ( 12th )	Telugu Desam Party
				May 2009	June 2014	2009 ( 13th )
8			Yeduguri Sandinti Jaganmohan Reddy (born 1972) MLA for Pulivendula	21 May 2014	29 May 2019	2014 ( 14th )	YSR Congress Party
(7)			Nara Chandrababu Naidu (born 1950) MLA for Kuppam	30 May 2019	12 June 2024	2019 ( 15th )	Telugu Desam Party
	–	–	Vacant	12 June 2024	Present	2024 ( 16th )	–

Statistics

List of leaders of opposition by length of term (since 2014)

No.	Name	Party		Length of term
				Longest continuous term	Total days as leader of opposition
1	Yeduguri Sandinti Jagan Mohan Reddy		YSRCP	1,805 days	1,805 days
2	Nara Chandrababu Naidu		TDP	1,600 days	1,600 days

List of leaders of opposition by time line

References

1. "Leader of the Opposition - Legislative Assembly - Liferay DXP". aplegislature.org. Retrieved 2 June 2022.
2. Roy, Pranay Dutta (16 March 2022). "Nehru couldn't ignore Potti Sriramulu who gave India Andhra Pradesh by fasting till death". ThePrint. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
3. "Indian Express October 2, 1953" . Retrieved 26 August 2013.
4. "HT This Day: March 26, 1953 -- Andhra state from Oct 1". Hindustan Times. 25 March 2023. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
5. "Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council History". National Informatics Centre. Retrieved 3 September 2010.
6. "Seventh Amendment, 1956". Government of India. Retrieved 19 November 2023.
7. "Andhra Pradesh Formation Day 2023: AP History, Wishes, Quotes, and Must-try Foods". News18. 1 November 2023. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
8. Gazette Notification of commencement (PDF) (Report). Government of India. Retrieved 5 March 2014.
9. "Telangana Assembly Elections 2023: Why Telangana Split From Andhra Pradesh | Explained". TimesNow. 2 December 2023. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
10. "The Salary and Allowances of Leaders of Opposition in Parliament Act, 1977 and Rules Made Thereunder". mpa.nic.in. Archived from the original on 25 September 2000.
11. "Role of Opposition Party in Parliament". 26 April 2014.
12. "Role of Opposition in Parliament | India". 21 July 2016.