Former West Bengal Congress chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury will be the party’s leader in the Lok Sabha. His colleague K. Suresh from Kerala will be designated as Chief Whip.
Though the Congress did not announce it officially, Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi was seen informing other Opposition leaders on the floor of the House, including Sudip Bandopadhyaya of the Trinamool.
The decision came after an early morning meeting of Congress MPs, at which president Rahul Gandhi was present. Though there were reports that Mr. Gandhi could lead the Congress in the Lok Sabha, he seemed to have turned down any such suggestion.
In the 16th Lok Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge was the Congress leader in the Lok Sabha and Jyotiraditya Scindia was the Chief Whip.
“I have always been a foot soldier of the party, and soldiers always stand in front,” Mr. Chowdhury told The Hindu of his new role.
In the post-lunch session, Mr. Chowdhury was seated on the front row reserved for Leader of the Single Largest Party in the Opposition and was seen closely interacting with Ms. Gandhi. The Congress leader was seen introducing many Opposition MPs from Bengal, including former Indian football team captain Prasun Banerjee. “I am a fan of football,” Ms. Gandhi could be heard telling the former international footballer.
Known to be a vocal critic of the ruling Trinamool in Bengal, Mr. Chowdhury is a fifth-term Lok Sabha member, and is representing Baharampur. He had also served as the junior Railway Minister in the UPA-II government.
Mr. Suresh, a seven-term MP, will perform the important task of communicating the party’s stands on different Bills.
