Official Opposition designates the political party which has secured the second largest number of seats in either
upper or
lower house
A lower house is one of two Debate chamber, chambers of a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house. Despite its official position "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has co ...
s. To get formal recognition in either
upper or
lower house
A lower house is one of two Debate chamber, chambers of a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house. Despite its official position "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has co ...
s, the concerned party must have at least
10% of the total strength of the house. A single party has to meet the 10% seat criterion, not an alliance. Many of the Indian state legislatures also follow this 10% rule while the rest of them prefer single largest opposition party according to the rules of their respective houses.
Role
The Opposition's main role is to question the government of the day and hold them accountable to the public. This also helps to fix the mistakes of the Ruling Party. The Opposition is equally responsible in upholding the best interests of the people of the country. They have to ensure that the Government does not take any steps, which might have negative effects on the people of the country.
The role of the opposition in legislature is basically to check the excesses of the ruling or dominant party, and not to be totally antagonistic. There are actions of the ruling party which may be beneficial to the masses and opposition is expected to support such steps.
In legislature the Opposition Party has a major role, which is:
# Constructive criticism of government.
# Putting restriction on arbitrariness of ruling party.
# Safeguarding liberty and right of people.
# Preparation to form government.
# Expression of public opinion.
Current official opposition parties
Parliament
This is the list of current opposition parties in the
Parliament of India
The Parliament of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme legislative body of the Republic of India. It is a bicameral legislature composed of the president of India and two houses: the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) and the Lok Sabha (House of ...
:
Legislative Assemblies
This is the list of current opposition parties in the
Legislative Assemblies of the
Indian states and union territories:.
Legislative Councils
This is the list of current opposition parties in the
Legislative Councils of the
Indian states:
See also
*
List of current Indian opposition leaders
The Official Opposition (India), official opposition in India includes the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, the Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha and the current Official Opposition (India), opposition leaders in the State legislativ ...
*
List of current Indian ruling and opposition parties
State Legislative Assemblies
State Legislative Council
See also
*List of current Indian opposition leaders
The Official Opposition (India), official opposition in India includes the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, the Leader ...
References
Further reading
* {{Citation, last=Manisha, first=M., title=Parliamentary Efficacy and the Role of the Opposition: A Comparative Study of the 2nd and 14th Lok Sabha, date=2010–2011, url=https://rajyasabha.nic.in/rsnew/fellowship/PARLIAMENTARY_EFFICACY.pdf, others=Rajya Sabha Fellowship for Parliamentary Studies, publisher=rajyasabha.nic.in
Parliament of India
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...