Official Opposition (India)

Last updated

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. [1] 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.

Contents

Role

The Opposition's main role is to question the government of the day and hold them accountable to the public. This also helps to fix the mistakes of the Ruling Party. 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.

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.

In legislature the Opposition Party has a major role, which is:

  1. Constructive criticism of government.
  2. Putting restriction on arbitrariness of ruling party.
  3. Safeguarding liberty and right of people.
  4. Preparation to form government.
  5. Expression of public opinion.

Current official opposition parties

Parliament

This is the list of current opposition parties in the Parliament of India:

HousePartySeatsTotal seats
Lok Sabha Indian National Congress 99543
Rajya Sabha Indian National Congress 27245

Legislative Assemblies

This is the list of current opposition parties in the Legislative Assemblies of the Indian states and union territories:. [2]

State/UTPartySeatsTotal seats
Andhra Pradesh N/A
(no opposition with at least 10% seats)
175
Arunachal Pradesh N/A
(no opposition with at least 10% seats)
60
Assam Indian National Congress 26126
Bihar Rashtriya Janata Dal 79243
Chhattishgarh Indian National Congress 3590
Delhi Bharatiya Janata Party 870
Goa Indian National Congress 340
Gujarat N/A

(no opposition with at least 10% seats)

-182
Haryana Indian National Congress 3090
Himachal Pradesh Bharatiya Janata Party 2568
Jammu and Kashmir Bharatiya Janata Party 2990
Jharkhand Bharatiya Janata Party 2681
Karnataka Bharatiya Janata Party 66224
Kerala Indian National Congress 21140
Madhya Pradesh Indian National Congress 66230
Maharashtra Indian National Congress 45288
Manipur N/A
(no opposition with at least 10% seats)
60
Meghalaya All India Trinamool Congress 560
Mizoram Mizo National Front 1040
Nagaland N/A
(no opposition with at least 10% seats)
60
Odisha Biju Janata Dal 51147
Puducherry Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam 633
Punjab Indian National Congress 18117
Rajasthan Indian National Congress 69200
Sikkim N/A
(no opposition with at least 10% seats)
32
Tamil Nadu All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam 65234
Telangana Bharat Rashtra Samithi 39119
Tripura Communist Party of India (Marxist) 1060
Uttar Pradesh Samajwadi Party 111403
Uttarakhand Indian National Congress 1970
West Bengal Bharatiya Janata Party 70294

Legislative Councils

This is the list of current opposition parties in the Legislative Councils of the Indian states:

StatePartySeatsTotal seats
Andhra Pradesh YSR Congress Party 3958
Bihar Rashtriya Janata Dal 1475
Karnataka Bharatiya Janata Party 3575
Maharashtra Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) 1278
Telangana Bharat Rashtra Samithi 2740
Uttar Pradesh Samajwadi Party 10100

See also

Related Research Articles

Politics of India works within the framework of the country's Constitution. India is a parliamentary secular democratic republic in which the president of India is the head of state & first citizen of India and the Prime Minister of India is the head of government. It is based on the federal structure of government, although the word is not used in the Constitution itself. India follows the dual polity system, i.e. federal in nature, that consists of the central authority at the centre and states at the periphery. The Constitution defines the organizational powers and limitations of both central and state governments; it is well recognised, fluid and considered supreme, i.e. the laws of the nation must conform to it. India is officially declared a secular and socialist state as per the Constitution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rajya Sabha</span> Upper house of the Parliament of India

The Rajya Sabha, also known as the Council of States, is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of India. As of 2023, it has a maximum membership of 245, of which 233 are elected by the legislatures of the states and union territories using single transferable votes through open ballots, while the president can appoint 12 members for their contributions to art, literature, science, and social service. The total allowed capacity is 250 according to article 80 of the Indian Constitution. The current potential seating capacity of the Rajya Sabha is 245, after the Jammu and Kashmir (Reorganisation) Act. The maximum seats of 250 members can be filled up at the discretion and requirements of the house of Rajya Sabha.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Samajwadi Party</span> Political party in India

The Samajwadi Party is a socialist political party in India. It was founded on 4 October 1992 by former Janata Dal politician Mulayam Singh Yadav and is headquartered in New Delhi. The Samajwadi Party is currently led by former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Akhilesh Yadav. As of 2024, it is currently the third-largest political party in India, and the largest party in Uttar Pradesh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parliament of India</span> Bicameral legislature of India

The Parliament of India or Indian Parliament, is the supreme legislative body of the Republic of India. It is a bicameral legislature composed of the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha. The President of India, in their role as head of the legislature, has full powers to summon and prorogue either house of Parliament or to dissolve the Lok Sabha, but they can exercise these powers only upon the advice of the Prime Minister and their Union Council of Ministers.

The Leaders of the Opposition of India are the politicians who lead the official opposition in either House of the Parliament of India. The Leader of the Opposition is the parliamentary chairperson of the largest political party in their respective legislative chamber that is not in government.

The State Legislative Assembly, or Vidhana Sabha, or Saasana Sabha, is a legislative body in each of the states and certain union territories of India. In 22 states and 3 union territories, there is a unicameral legislature which is the sole legislative body. In 6 states, the legislative assembly is the lower house of their bicameral legislature with the upper house being the State Legislative Council. 5 union territories are governed directly by the Union Government of India and have no legislative body.

State Governments of India are the governments ruling over the 28 states and 3 union territories of India with the head of Council of Ministers in every state being the Chief Minister. Power is divided between the Union government and the state governments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elections in Uttarakhand</span> Overview of the procedure of elections in the Indian state of Uttarakhand

Elections for the Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly in Uttarakhand state, India are conducted in accordance with the Constitution of India. The legislative assembly of Uttarakhand creates laws regarding the conduct of local body elections unilaterally while any changes by the state legislature to the conduct of state level elections need to be approved by the Parliament of India. In addition, the state legislature may be dismissed by the Parliament according to Article 356 of the Indian Constitution and President's rule may be imposed.

Elections in the Republic of India in 2018 included by-elections to the Lok Sabha, elections to the Rajya Sabha, elections to of eight states and numerous other by-elections to state legislative assemblies, councils and local bodies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha</span> Elected member who leads the official opposition in the Upper House of the Parliament of India

The Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha is an elected Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha who leads the official opposition in the Upper House of the Parliament of India. The Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha is the parliamentary chairperson of the largest political party in the Rajya Sabha that is not in government.

References

  1. "16th Lok Sabha won't have leader of opposition". The Times of India. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
  2. "Legislative Bodies". legislativebodiesinindia.nic.in. Retrieved 17 January 2019.

Further reading