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2014 Lok Sabha election results: Congress may lose oppurtunity to be leader of opposition

Congress unlikely to cross 55-mark, minimum strength required to claim the post

New Delhi: The decimation of ruling Congress in these elections is so severe that the party’s number in the Lok Sabha is unlikely to cross the 55-mark, the minimum strength required to legitimately claim the post of Leader of the Opposition in the Lower House, which has the rank of Cabinet minister.

The latest trend showed that the party might end up getting 51 to 54 seats only in the Lok Sabha. In about seven states, where the party was in direct fight with BJP appears to have been drawing blank. These include Gujarat, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Uttrakahand, Goa and Delhi. Interestingly, Congress is the ruling party in Himachal Pradesh and Uttrakhand.

According to an expert in parliamentary affairs, the largest among the Opposition parties get the post of Leader of Opposition in either Houses, but to legitimately claim it the party needs to have at least 10 per cent of the total strength of each of the House. “Since the Lok Sabha is of 543 members, besides the ruling party or alliance, a party has to have at least 55 members in its kitty,” he said.

However, sources in the Congress said, it is not going to be a “big issue”, as when the Prime Minister can cobble majority support with the help of other parties, why cannot the Leader of opposition have the required number with the support of its allies.

( Source : dc correspondent )
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