Who will become the next Rajya Sabha LOP?
Now that Mallikarjun Kharge has become the president of Indian National Congress, it needs to be decided who would become the Leader of Opposition (LOP) in the Rajya Sabha. Congress being the largest Opposition party in the House, the LOP needs to be selected from that party.
In conformation with the party’s one-person-one-post policy, Kharge had resigned from the post of LOP before filing his nomination for the party presidency.
Four candidates are in the mix, as per sources knowledgeable in the matter, three of whom are long-time MPs.
There is P Chidambaram, also a former Union finance minister. He has many things going for him. However, he has one big drawback: He has scant knowledge, or at least spoken prowess, of Hindi.
Then there is Pramod Tiwari, now in his second term in the Council of States. He may be a long-time Congress loyalist—even holding the record of winning an assembly constituency (Rampur Khas in Uttar Pradesh) for seven consecutive times—but he is certainly a lightweight candidate. To become an LOP, heft has to count.
Digvijay Singh ticks many of the right boxes, including the most important one of being fully trustworthy, but occasionally courts controversy with his comments, and that may go against him.
That leaves another, and perhaps, the most likely candidate: Jairam Ramesh. First and foremost, he is a party as well as a Gandhi family loyalist. He is also proficient in Hindi, certainly a heavyweight, highly knowledgeable on various issues and laws, and speaks in a measured manner. A gifted orator, he knows when to say what.
However, in trying to jump to a conclusion, we must not forget Mallikarjun Kharge. He may have given his resignation from the post of LOP, but Sonia Gandhi has not yet accepted it. So, it could also be that he will continue for the time being.
But, when replaced, almost certainly, Jairam Ramesh will replace him.
