The Congress on Tuesday named senior leader Adhir Ranjan Chaudhary as the party’s leader in Lok Sabha.
Following the announcement, Chaudhary, who is the MP from West Bengal’s Behrampur, said that he will carry out his responsibility as a “foot soldier” of the party.
“I have been given this responsibility (the leader of Congress in the Lok Sabha). I was asked to stand in the front. I said okay. I am a foot soldier and foot soldiers stand in front. So I will fight as a foot soldier,” Chaudhary was quoted as saying by ANI.
Chaudhary was named party leader in the lower house by UPA chairperson and Congress Parliamentary party chief Sonia Gandhi.
According to NDTV, Chaudhary was picked after the party failed to convince Congress president Rahul Gandhi.
A letter nominating Chaudhary as party leader in the lower house was sent to Lok Sabha Secretariat.
Reports say that the name of the party’s chief whip has not been finalised yet.
Sonia Gandhi was elected as the Chairperson of the CPP on 1 June. At the meeting, party leaders had empowered her to name the party leader and the chief whip in the Lok Sabha.
The Congress won 52 out of 542 seats. As per rules, the Congress needs one-tenth of the total seats (54) to lay claim for the Leader of the Opposition’s post thus it is set to again lose the position of Leader of Opposition in the lower house.