Rahul Gandhi chosen as Indian parliament's first leader of the opposition in a decade

Congress leader will be responsible for scrutinising government policies and holding Prime Minister Narendra Modi to account

As leader of the opposition, Congress's Rahul Gandhi will be being involved in the appointment of key officials. AFP

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has been chosen as leader of the opposition in India's Lok Sabha lower house of parliament, following his party's impressive showing in recent elections.

The post had lain vacant for a decade because no opposition party had met the required minimum threshold of 55 seats to hold the position.

Mr Gandhi will be responsible for scrutinising government policies and holding Prime Minister Narendra Modi to account, as well as being involved in the appointment of key officials, including the Central Bureau of Investigation director, Election Commission chiefs and the head of the National Human Rights Commission.

A parliamentarian for five terms, he was again elected as representative for Rae Bareilly constituency in Uttar Pradesh, northern India, in elections that concluded this month.

His Indian National Congress won 99 seats as lead party in the INDIA opposition bloc in the general election that began on April. INDIA won a total of 234 seats.

Congress had won just 44 seats in elections in 2014 and 52 seats in 2019.

The improved showing by the opposition this year reduced Mr Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party to 240 seats – down from 303 in 2019.

The BJP has formed a government with the National Democratic Alliance parties, togethering mustering 293 seats in parliament, where 272 are required for a simple majority.

Mr Gandhi is the third member from his family to be leader of the opposition.

His father, former Indian prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, held the position from 1989 to 1990 and his mother, Sonia Gandhi, from 1999 until 2004.

Meanwhile, there was a face off over the election of parliamentary speaker.

The opposition had demanded that the ruling alliance support their candidate for the deputy speaker's post in exchange for their support for the NDA's candidate for the speakership.

Om Birla was fielded by the government for the post of the speaker – a position he has held since 2019.

The speaker is a constitutional and ceremonial head of the lower house of the parliament and the post usually goes to the ruling alliance while the deputy speaker’s post is conventionally held by a member of the opposition party.

Mr Birla won the election against INDIA candidate Kodikunnil Suresh.

Traditionally, the speaker and the deputy speaker of the lower house of parliament are elected through a consensus between the ruling party and the opposition. The incoming deputy has yet to be selected.

In his first term as speaker, the opposition claimed Mr Birla was partisan. He was accused of arbitrarily suspending dozens of opposition members and being soft on erring ruling party members.

During his tenure, the parliament passed landmark legislations such as the Women’s Reservation Bill.

It also scrapped Article 370 which gave semi-autonomous status to the disputed Muslim-majority Kashmir region, the disputed territory claimed by both India and Pakistan.