We want him/her to lead the party in the House… Pressure is mounting on Rahul Gandhi to become the leader of the opposition

New Delhi: The demand is growing in the Congress that former Congress President Rahul Gandhi should take the role of Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha. Despite being the largest opposition party, Congress could not even get 10% seats in the last two Lok Sabhas, due to which it did not get the status of Leader of Opposition. This time the party has got 99 seats. After this, Congress has a claim for the post of Leader of Opposition. There is a consensus within the Congress that Rahul Gandhi should become the Leader of Opposition. Recently, from the Congress Working Committee meeting to the Congress Parliamentary Party meeting, all the leaders including Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge unanimously placed their demand in front of Rahul Gandhi. Rahul Gandhi has asked for some time to think on this demand.‘Rahul should lead in Lok Sabha’
However, there is a belief within the party that Rahul Gandhi should come forward and lead the party. A senior party leader said that the way Rahul Gandhi led the party during his/her Quit India tour, the party wants him/her to lead the party in the same way in the Lok Sabha. The party believes that Rahul Gandhi is the first choice for the Leader of the Opposition and this is a great opportunity for him/her to come into the leadership role.

Another party leader said that there is a strong opinion within the party that Rahul Gandhi should become the Leader of Opposition like his/her father former PM Rajiv Gandhi and mother Sonia Gandhi and raise people’s issues in the House. According to sources, if Rahul Gandhi takes this responsibility, it will benefit both him/her and the party. According to an important source, after coming into the role of Leader of Opposition, the thinking about Rahul Gandhi will change even within the opposition camp. The tours have made Rahul Gandhi an undisputed mass leader, whose strength is being acknowledged by the allies as well as the ruling party and the country. After becoming the Leader of Opposition, the thinking of those who still feel uncomfortable about Rahul Gandhi will also change.

There is talk of Priyanka Gandhi contesting from Wayanad
Rahul Gandhi has won from Rae Bareli, his/her family’s traditional seat in Uttar Pradesh, as well as Wayanad in Kerala. he/she will have to leave one of these two seats. However, Rahul Gandhi has not yet clarified which seat he/she will leave. In his/her thanksgiving meetings in both Rae Bareli and Wayanad, he/she mentioned the dilemma he/she has regarding both the seats in front of the people. It is believed that Rahul Gandhi may leave the seat of Wayanad. There is a discussion about Wayanad that if Rahul leaves this seat, then Priyanka Gandhi may contest the election. The reasoning behind this is that a good way to remove the resentment among the local people due to Rahul leaving Wayanad would be to field a member of the Gandhi family from there.

It is said that this suggestion has come from the Kerala unit of Congress. The argument within the party regarding Rae Bareli is that the Gandhi family has had a continuous relationship with Rae Bareli for the last 70 years and with Amethi for the last four and a half decades. If Rahul leaves this seat, the decades-old relationship of the Gandhi family will end. On the other hand, there is also an argument that Congress has performed so well in UP after the year 2009. In 2009, Congress had got 21 seats, whereas the Congress, which had won two and one seat respectively in UP in the last two times, has won six seats this time.