Can Rahul Gandhi redefine Opposition leadership? A look at his first year as LoP

As Rahul Gandhi completed one year as the Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha last month, the Congress party on Wednesday recalled the eventful year and also the major milestones that it achieved under the leadership of Gandhi scion.

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Rahul's brief one-year tenure as the LoP, so far, has been marked by a couple of achievements, which include 'pressuring' the Centre to announce nationwide caste census, withdrawing lateral entry notification and also galvanising the national discourse around the 'Save the Constitution' pitch.

The Rae Bareli MP took charge as the LoP in adverse circumstances, yet many Congressmen feel that he successfully steered the 'weakened' party and earned it the 'respect and influence' that it deserved as the main Opposition party.

Notably, the 16th and 17th Lok Sabha remained deprived of any Leader of Opposition because none of the parties achieved the basic benchmark -- 1/10th of the House, a pre-requisite to claim the LoP status. Since 2014, no Opposition party has won 10 per cent of the 543 seats required to claim the LoP. It was only in the 2024 elections that the Congress won 99 seats -- its best showing in a decade.

Rahul assumed the LoP role in June 2024 and led a diverse Opposition group against the Modi government. The INDIA bloc, which fought the LS 2024 elections together, fragmented into factions after polls, but this did little to weaken LoP’s resolve as he went on the offensive and questioned the Centre, inside and outside the Parliament.