| Leader of the Opposition in the Punjab Legislative Assembly | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
| Nominator | Members of Official Opposition |
| Appointer | Speaker of Punjab assembly |
| Term length | Five years, No restriction on renewal |
| Inaugural holder | Gopi Chand Bhargava |
| Formation | 6 April 1937; 87 years, 169 days ago |
| Deputy | Vacant (since 15 March 2024) |
The Leader of the Opposition is the politician who leads the official opposition in the Punjab Legislative Assembly.
Official Opposition [1] is a term used in Punjab Legislative Assembly to designate the political party which has secured the second largest number of seats Punjab assembly. In order to get formal recognition, the party must have at least 10% of total membership of the Legislative Assembly. 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. Punjab Legislative Assembly appointed the member of the second largest party as Leader of opposition. [2]
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. [3]
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. [4]
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.
Color keys for the party of leaders of the opposition
| No. | Name (constituency) | Portrait | Tenure | Party | Assembly | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Before independence | |||||||
| 1 | Gopi Chand Bhargava (Lahore City) |  | 5 April 1937 | 1940 | Indian National Congress | 1st | |
| 2 | Bhim Sen Sachar (N-W Town) |  | 1940 | 5 February 1945 | |||
| - | Vacant (assembly under dissolution) | 5 February 1945 | 21 March 1946 | - | - | ||
| 3 | Iftikhar Hussain Khan (Ferozpur General) |  | 21 March 1946 | 2 March 1947 | All-India Muslim League | 2nd | |
| - | Vacant (assembly under dissolution) | 2 March 1947 | 15 August 1947 | - | - | ||
| (Punjab, Haryana and Himachal) (1947–1966) | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Name (constituency) | Portrait | Tenure | Tenure Duration | Party | Assembly | ||
| - | Vacant (no opposition in assembly) | 15 August 1947 | 17 April 1952 | 4 years, 246 days | - | Interim Assembly | ||
| 1 | Gopal Singh khalsa (Jagraon) |  | 17 April 1952 | 11 April 1956 | 3 years, 360 days | Shiromani Akali Dal | 1st | |
| - | Vacant (all opposition members joined the government) | 11 April 1956 | 9 April 1957 | 363 days | - | |||
| 2 | Baldev Prakash (Amritsar City East) |  | 9 April 1957 | 11 March 1962 | 4 years, 336 days | Bharatiya Jana Sangh | 2nd | |
| 3 | Gurnam Singh (Raikot) |  | 11 March 1962 | 5 July 1966 | 4 years, 116 days | Shiromani Akali Dal | 3rd | |
| - | Vacant (state under President's rule) | 5 July 1966 | 1 November 1966 | 119 days | ||||
| Since 1966 (Punjab) | ||||||||
| (3) | Gurnam Singh (Raikot) | | 1 November 1966 | 8 March 1967 | 127 days | Shiromani Akali Dal | 3rd | |
| 4 | Gian Singh Rarewala (Payal) |  | 9 March 1967 | 24 November 1967 | 260 days | Indian National Congress | 4th | |
| (3) | Gurnam Singh (Qila Raipur) | | 24 November 1967 | 23 August 1968 | 273 days | Akali Dal - Sant Fateh Singh | ||
| - | Vacant (state under President's rule) | 23 August 1968 | 17 February 1969 | 178 days | - | - | ||
| 5 | Major Harinder Singh (Ajnala) |  | 17 February 1969 | 14 June 1971 | 2 years, 117 days | Indian National Congress (Requisitionists) | 5th | |
| - | Vacant (state under President's rule) | 14 June 1971 | 16 March 1972 | 276 days | - | - | ||
| 6 | Jaswinder Singh Brar (Kotkapura) |  | 16 March 1972 | 2 October 1972 | 200 days | Shiromani Akali Dal | 6th | |
| 7 | Prakash Singh Badal (Gidderbaha) |  | 2 October 1972 | 30 April 1977 | 4 years, 210 days | |||
| - | Vacant (state under President's rule) | 30 April 1977 | 19 June 1977 | 50 days | - | - | ||
| 8 | Balram Jakhar (Abohar) |  | 19 June 1977 | 17 February 1980 | 2 years, 243 days | Indian National Congress (Indira) | 7th | |
| - | Vacant (state under President's rule) | 17 February 1980 | 7 June 1980 | 111 days | - | - | ||
| (7) | Prakash Singh Badal (Gidderbaha) | | 7 June 1980 | 7 October 1983 | 3 years, 122 days | Shiromani Akali Dal | 8th | |
| - | Vacant (state under President's rule) | 7 October 1983 | 29 September 1985 | 1 year, 357 days | - | - | ||
| 9 | Gurbinder Kaur Brar (Muktsar) | | 29 September 1985 | 11 May 1987 | 1 year, 224 days | Indian National Congress (Indira) | 9th | |
| - | Vacant (state under President's rule) | 11 May 1987 | 25 February 1992 | 4 years, 290 days | - | - | ||
| 10 | Satnam Singh Kainth (Phillaur) | | 25 February 1992 | 12 February 1997 | 4 years, 353 days | Bahujan Samaj Party | 10th | |
| 11 | Rajinder Kaur Bhattal (Lehra) |  | 12 February 1997 | 10 October 1998 | 1 year, 240 days | Indian National Congress | 11th | |
| 12 | Chaudhary Jagjit Singh (Kartarpur) |  | 10 October 1998 | 26 February 2002 | 3 years, 139 days | |||
| (7) | Prakash Singh Badal (Lambi) | | 26 February 2002 | 1 March 2007 | 5 years, 3 days | Shiromani Akali Dal | 12th | |
| (11) | Rajinder Kaur Bhattal (Lehra) | | 1 March 2007 | 14 March 2012 | 5 years, 13 days | Indian National Congress | 13th | |
| 13 | Sunil Kumar Jakhar (Abohar) |  | 14 March 2012 | 11 December 2015 | 3 years, 272 days | 14th | ||
| 14 | Charanjit Singh Channi (Chamkaur Sahib) |  | 11 December 2015 | 11 November 2016 | 336 days | |||
| - | Vacant (all opposition members resigned against SYL canal issue) | 11 November 2016 | 16 March 2017 | 125 days | - | |||
| 15 | Harvinder Singh Phoolka (Dakha) |  | 16 March 2017 | 9 July 2017 | 115 days | Aam Aadmi Party | 15th | |
| 16 | Sukhpal Singh Khaira (Bholath) |  | 9 July 2017 | 26 July 2018 | 1 year, 17 days | |||
| 17 | Harpal Singh Cheema (Dirba) |  | 27 July 2018 | 16 March 2022 | 3 years, 232 days | |||
| 18 | Partap Singh Bajwa (Quadian) |  | 9 April 2022 | Incumbent | 2 years, 166 days | Indian National Congress | 16th | |
In India, Official Opposition designates largest party not supporting the ruling cabinet in the Parliament of India or a State or Territory Legislative Assembly. To get formal recognition in either upper or lower houses, the concerned party must have at least 10% of the total strength of the house. A single party has to meet the 10% seat criterion, not an alliance. Many of the Indian state legislatures also follow this 10% rule while the rest of them prefer single largest opposition party according to the rules of their respective houses.
The Anandpur Sahib Resolution was a statement with a list of demands made by a Punjabi Sikh political party, the Shiromani Akali Dal, in 1973.
The Punjab Legislative Assembly or the Punjab Vidhan Sabha is the unicameral legislature of the state of Punjab in India. The Sixteenth Punjab Legislative Assembly was constituted in March 2022. At present, it consists of 117 members, directly elected from 117 single-seat constituencies. The tenure of the Legislative Assembly is five years unless dissolved sooner. The Speaker of the sixteenth assembly is Kultar Singh Sandhwan. The meeting place of the Legislative Assembly since 6 March 1961 is the Vidhan Bhavan in Chandigarh.
The elections in 2012 were scheduled for seven Vidhan Sabhas and several local elections were also conducted. The 14th presidential election to elect the 13th president of the republic was also held in 2012. The tenure of the legislative assemblies of Goa, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Manipur, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand were to expire during the year. The Election Commission of India issued the dates for the elections in Manipur, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Goa to take place in the first quarter of the year. Whereas the elections were held in Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat in the last quarter of the year.
People's United Front was a Post Poll Alliance of 7 Political parties and Independents formed in a Convention at Khanna on 4 March 1967, in Punjab after the election of 1967.
The 1962 Punjab Legislative Assembly election was the Third Vidhan Sabha election of the state when the Indian National Congress emerged as the largest party with 90 seats in the 154-seat legislature in the election. The Shiromani Akali Dal became the official opposition, holding 16 seats. From 5 July 1966 to 1 November 1966, Assembly was under suspension.
The 1967 Punjab Legislative Assembly election was the Fourth Vidhan Sabha election of the state. This was the first hung assembly. Indian National Congress emerged as the largest party with 48 seats in the 104-seat legislature in the election. The Akali Dal - Sant Fateh Singh became the second, holding 24 seats. On 28 August 1968, Assembly dissolved prematurely and president rule was imposed.
The 1969 Punjab Legislative Assembly election was the fifth Vidhan Sabha election of the state. This was the second hung assembly. Shiromani Akali Dal emerged as the largest party with 43 seats in the 104-seat legislature in the election. The Indian National Congress became the second, holding 38 seats. On 13 June 1971, Assembly dissolved prematurely and president rule was imposed.
