Official Opposition (India)

{{Short description|Second-largest party in the upper or lower house}}

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{{Politics of India}}

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{{Hoax|reason=Conflates leader of opposition requiring a party to have 10% of the seats to appoint one with "official opposition" which is not a designation in India|date=December 2024}}

{{Original research|date=December 2024}}

{{Verification|date=December 2024}}

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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 opposition party must have at least 10% of the total strength of the house.{{Cite web|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/16th-Lok-Sabha-wont-have-leader-of-opposition/articleshow/37551926.cms|title=16th Lok Sabha won't have leader of opposition |website=The Times of India|date=July 2014 |access-date=17 January 2019}}{{failed verification|reason=Source speaks about Leader of Opposition and not about "Official Opposition"|date=December 2024}}

Role

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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:

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

Current official opposition parties

{{Original research|date=December 2024}}

{{update|date=March 2025}}

= Parliament =

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

class="wikitable"

!House

!Party

!Seats

!Total seats

| INC

| 101

| 249

| INC

| 27

| 111

= Legislative Assemblies =

This is the list of current opposition parties in the Legislative Assemblies of the Indian states and union territories:.{{Cite web|url=https://legislativebodiesinindia.nic.in/|title=Legislative Bodies|website=legislativebodiesinindia.nic.in|access-date=17 January 2019}}

class="wikitable sortable"

!State/UT

!Party

!Seats

!Total seats

|N/A
{{small|(no opposition with at least 10% seats)}}

|–

|175

Arunachal Pradesh

|N/A
{{small|(no opposition with at least 10% seats)}}

|–

|60

| bgcolor="{{Party color|Indian National Congress}}" |Indian National Congress

|26

|126

| bgcolor="{{Party color|Rashtriya Janata Dal}}" |Rashtriya Janata Dal

|79

|243

| bgcolor="{{Party color|Indian National Congress}}" |Indian National Congress

|35

|90

| bgcolor="{{Party color|Aam Aadmi Party}}" |Aam Aadmi Party

|22

|70

| bgcolor="{{Party color|Indian National Congress}}" |Indian National Congress

|3

|40

| N/A

(no opposition with at least 10% seats)

| -

|182

| bgcolor="{{Party color|Indian National Congress}}" |Indian National Congress

|30

|90

Himachal Pradesh

| bgcolor="{{Party color|Bharatiya Janata Party}}" |Bharatiya Janata Party

|25

|68

Jammu and Kashmir

|bgcolor="{{Party color|Bharatiya Janata Party}}" |Bharatiya Janata Party

|29

|90

| bgcolor="{{Party color|Bharatiya Janata Party}}" |Bharatiya Janata Party

|26

|81

| bgcolor="{{Party color|Bharatiya Janata Party }}" |Bharatiya Janata Party

|66

|224

| bgcolor="{{Party color|Indian National Congress}}" |Indian National Congress

|21

|140

| bgcolor="{{Party color|Indian National Congress}}" |Indian National Congress

|66

|230

|N/A
{{small|(no opposition with at least 10% seats)}}

|–

|288

|N/A
{{small|(no opposition with at least 10% seats)}}

|–

|60

| bgcolor="{{Party color|All India Trinamool Congress}}" |All India Trinamool Congress

| 5

|60

| bgcolor="{{Party color|Mizo National Front}}" |Mizo National Front

|10

|40

|N/A
{{small|(no opposition with at least 10% seats)}}

|–

|60

| bgcolor="{{Party color|Biju Janata Dal}}" |Biju Janata Dal

|51

|147

| bgcolor="{{Party color|Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam}}" |Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam

|6

|33

| bgcolor="{{Party color|Indian National Congress}}" |Indian National Congress

|18

|117

| bgcolor="{{Party color|Indian National Congress}}" |Indian National Congress

|69

|200

|N/A
{{small|(no opposition with at least 10% seats)}}

|–

|32

| bgcolor="{{Party color|All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam}}" |All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam

|65

|234

| bgcolor="{{Party color|Bharat Rashtra Samithi}}" |Bharat Rashtra Samithi

|39

|119

| bgcolor="{{Party color|Communist Party of India (Marxist)}}" |Communist Party of India (Marxist)

|10

|60

| bgcolor="{{Party color|Samajwadi Party}}" |Samajwadi Party

|111

|403

| bgcolor="{{Party color|Indian National Congress}}" |Indian National Congress

|19

|70

| bgcolor="{{Party color|Bharatiya Janata Party}}" |Bharatiya Janata Party

|70

|294

= Legislative Councils =

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

class="wikitable sortable"

! State

!Party

!Seats

!Total seats

| bgcolor="{{Party color|YSR Congress Party}}" |YSR Congress Party

|39

|58

| bgcolor="{{Party color|Rashtriya Janata Dal}}" |Rashtriya Janata Dal

|14

|75

| bgcolor="{{Party color|Bharatiya Janata Party}}" |Bharatiya Janata Party

|35

|75

| bgcolor="{{Party color|Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray)}}" |Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray)

|12

|78

| bgcolor="{{Party color|Bharat Rashtra Samithi}}" |Bharat Rashtra Samithi

|27

|40

| bgcolor="{{Party color|Samajwadi Party}}" |Samajwadi Party

|10

|100

See also

References

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Further reading

{{Citation|last=Manisha|first=M.|title=Parliamentary Efficacy and the Role of the Opposition: A Comparative Study of the 2nd and 14th Lok Sabha|date=2010–2011|url=https://rajyasabha.nic.in/rsnew/fellowship/PARLIAMENTARY_EFFICACY.pdf|others=Rajya Sabha Fellowship for Parliamentary Studies|publisher=rajyasabha.nic.in}}

Category:Parliament of India

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