Two factors have helped the Congress to secure the Leader of the Opposition post. The ruling BJP has won such an overwhelming mandate that it did not wish to be seen as being petty with a rival it has laid low; another factor, informed sources said, the BJP would not like to be seen denying the Leader of Opposition status to Mr. Kharge, a Dalit leader, at a time that it has received a substantial part of the community’s vote.
Initially, the Trinamool Congress had been promoting the idea of forming a bloc with the AIADMK to secure both the Leader of Opposition and Deputy Speaker’s positions if possible, or at least one of them. The venture failed, first because a pre-election arrangement gets priority over a post-election arrangement; secondly, the AIADMK did not wish to be obliged to the ruling dispensation.
On Tuesday, when Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa met Prime Minister Narendra Modi, she ruled out joining the NDA; when asked whether her party would back the NDA in the Rajya Sabha, where it is short of numbers, she merely said, “We will see if the need arises.”
Meanwhile, the Congress now also has to select a Deputy Leader and Chief Whip for the party in the Lok Sabha, as well as a Leader and Deputy Leader in the Rajya Sabha. With Mr. Kharge being from the south, party sources said, the Deputy Leader will be either from the north or north-east; it also rules out the likelihood of a southern leader as Leader in the Rajya Sabha.
