Congress’s Rahul Gandhi, widely expected to shoulder the responsibilities of the Leader of the Opposition in the 18th Lok Sabha, is not inclined to take up the post, sources in the party have confided. Three senior leaders — Kumari Selja, Gaurav Gogoi and Manish Tiwari — are being considered for the job, sources said.
The Opposition will have a leader in the Lok Sabha after a decade following its hugely improved performance in the recently concluded Lok Sabha polls. Ninety-nine of its 232 seats have come from the Congress, and as the largest party in the Opposition benches, it is expected name the Leader of the Opposition.
Mr Gandhi, whose Bharat Jodo Yatra was widely cited as the reason for the Congress boost — the party won 44 seats in 2014 and 52 in 2019 — was expected to take more responsibility in parliament. There has been considerable pressure on him from various leaders on this point.
The post would have given him Cabinet rank, help coordinate better with allies in the INDIA bloc and helped the Congress project a strong face by spearheading the Opposition attack on the BJP in the Lok Sabha.
But sources said Mr Gandhi, who even stepped down from the party chief’s post following the rout in 2019, is not keen on it. He has avoided taking up any post since, sources added.
Mr Gandhi has also decided to represent his mother Sonia Gandhi’s constituency, Raebareli, in parliament, sources said. An announcement is expected this evening.
He will give up Wayanad, from where his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is expected to contest.
The other family bastion in Uttar Pradesh, Amethi, is already back in Congress hands, with long-time Gandhi family aide KL Sharma besting the BJP’s former Union minister Smriti Irani.
Ms Gandhi Vadra had not contested in the general election, choosing instead to focus on campaigning for the party. Sources said she had reservations about all three Gandhis being in parliament, concerned that it would give ammunition to the BJP for its “dynastic politics” allegation. Sonia Gandhi is a member of Rajya Sabha, the upper house of parliament.
