Jai Ram Thakur recognised as Himachal’s Leader of the Opposition.

• Former Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur has been accorded the status of the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Assembly by Protem Speaker Chander Kumar.
• The Congress won 40 seats in the 68-member Assembly. The BJP won 25 seats while three went to Independents. Thakur, a six-time MLA, won from Seraj with the highest margin. The ex-CM was elected unanimously as all 24 BJP MLAs proposed his name for the post.

Leader of the Opposition:

• The leader of the largest Opposition party having not less than one-tenth seats of the total strength of the House is recognised as the leader of the Opposition in a House.
• S/He provides constructive criticism of the government policies and to provide an alternative government.
• The leader of Opposition in both the Houses were accorded statutory recognition in 1977 and are entitled to the salary, allowances and other facilities equivalent to that of a cabinet minister.
• The office of leader of the opposition is not mentioned in the Constitution but in the Parliamentary Statute.