Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was officially appointed as the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, as announced by party MP KC Venugopal.

In a media briefing, Venugopal revealed that Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) Chairperson Sonia Gandhi had communicated Rahul Gandhi's appointment to Pro-tem Speaker Bhartruhari Mahtab.

Rahul Gandhi becomes the third member of his family to assume this significant role, following in the footsteps of his parents, Sonia and Rajiv Gandhi.

The decision to appoint Rahul Gandhi was taken by the Congress Working Committee (CWC) on June 9, reflecting the party's top decision-making body's consensus. After the CWC meeting, Rahul Gandhi had requested some time to consider the position before accepting.

This appointment marks the Congress's reclamation of the Leader of Opposition post, a role it had been unable to claim in previous terms due to insufficient seats. In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the Congress significantly increased its seat count to 99, up from 52 in 2019 and 44 in 2014. Despite being the second-largest party after the BJP in both the 2014 and 2019 elections, the Congress had not met the 10 percent seat threshold required to officially hold the Leader of Opposition position.

Earlier in the day, Rahul Gandhi took his oath as a Member of Parliament in the Lok Sabha, pledging his allegiance to the Constitution with the words "Jai Hind, Jai Samvidhan."