New Delhi, June 25, 2024 — Rahul Gandhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s chief rival, was appointed on Tuesday to lead India's opposition in parliament, filling a key post that had been vacant for a decade.

Congress party general secretary KC Venugopal announced Gandhi’s appointment, describing him as “a bold voice for the common people of India” who would ensure the government “is held firmly accountable at all times.” Venugopal conveyed this in a statement to reporters.

Sonia Gandhi, the Congress party chairperson and Rahul’s mother, officially notified the temporary speaker of parliament about his appointment as the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, India’s lower house.

Rahul Gandhi defied analysts’ expectations and exit polls, leading his Congress party to nearly double its parliamentary numbers—its best result since Modi's rise to power in 2014. Gandhi, a scion of a political dynasty, is the son, grandson, and great-grandson of former prime ministers, beginning with independence leader Jawaharlal Nehru.

The role of opposition leader requires representation from a party with at least 10% of the lawmakers in the 543-seat lower house. This post remained unfilled for 10 years as the Congress party, once a dominant force in Indian politics, had fallen short of this requirement due to poor election results.

Modi and his Hindu-nationalist BJP had ruled unchallenged for the past decade but could not replicate their previous landslide victories in the recent election, despite widespread expectations of another easy win.

Earlier on Tuesday, Gandhi was sworn in as a newly elected lawmaker in parliament. Shortly after, he declared in a statement, “To protect the Constitution is the duty of every patriotic Indian. We will fulfil this duty in full measure.”

Gandhi is among several prominent opposition figures who have faced criminal charges, which they allege are politically motivated by Modi’s administration. Last year in 2023, Gandhi was sentenced to two years in prison in a separate case in Gujarat but avoided incarceration by appealing to India’s top court. Though he was temporarily disqualified from parliament, his conviction was suspended by the Supreme Court, allowing him to return.

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