List of leaders of the opposition in the Punjab Legislative Assembly

Leader of the Opposition in the Punjab Legislative Assembly
Emblem of Punjab
Incumbent Partap Singh Bajwa (INC) since 9 April 2022
Nominator	Members of Official Opposition
Appointer	Speaker of Punjab assembly
Term length	Five years, No restriction on renewal
Inaugural holder	Gopi Chand Bhargava
Formation	6 April 1937; 87 years, 258 days ago
Deputy	Aruna Chaudhary (since 3 September 2024)

The Leader of the Opposition is the politician who leads the official opposition in the Punjab Legislative Assembly.

Official Opposition

Official Opposition^[1] is a term used in Punjab Legislative Assembly to designate the political party which has secured the second largest number of seats Punjab assembly. In order to get formal recognition, the party must have at least 10% of total membership of the Legislative Assembly. A single party has to meet the 10% seat criterion, not an alliance. Many of the Indian state legislatures also follows this 10% rule while the rest of them prefer single largest opposition party according to the rules of their respective houses. Punjab Legislative Assembly appointed the member of the second largest party as Leader of opposition.^[2]

Role

The Opposition's main role is to question the government of the day and hold them accountable to the public. 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.^[3]

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.^[4]

In legislature, Opposition Party has a major role and must act to discourage the party in power from acting against the interests of the country and the common man. They are expected to alert the population and the Government on the content of any Bill, which is not in the best interests of the country.

Color keys

Color keys for the party of leaders of the opposition

•   Aam Aadmi Party
•   Akali Dal - Sant Fateh Singh
•   All-India Muslim League
•   Bahujan Samaj Party
•   Bharatiya Jana Sangh
•   Indian National Congress
•   Shiromani Akali Dal

List of leaders of the opposition

Before independence (1937-1947)

No.	Name (constituency)	Portrait	Tenure		Party		Assembly
Before independence
1	Gopi Chand Bhargava (Lahore City)		5 April 1937	1940		Indian National Congress	1st
2	Bhim Sen Sachar (N-W Town)		1940	5 February 1945
-	Vacant (assembly under dissolution)		5 February 1945	21 March 1946		-	-
3	Iftikhar Hussain Khan (Ferozpur General)		21 March 1946	2 March 1947		All-India Muslim League	2nd
-	Vacant (assembly under dissolution)		2 March 1947	15 August 1947		-	-

After independence (1947-till now)

(Punjab, Haryana and Himachal) (1947–1966)
No.	Name (constituency)	Portrait	Tenure		Tenure Duration	Party		Assembly
-	Vacant (no opposition in assembly)		15 August 1947	17 April 1952	4 years, 246 days		-	Interim Assembly
1	Gopal Singh khalsa (Jagraon)		17 April 1952	11 April 1956	3 years, 360 days		Shiromani Akali Dal	1st
-	Vacant (all opposition members joined the government)		11 April 1956	9 April 1957	363 days		-
2	Baldev Prakash (Amritsar City East)		9 April 1957	11 March 1962	4 years, 336 days		Bharatiya Jana Sangh	2nd
3	Gurnam Singh (Raikot)		11 March 1962	5 July 1966	4 years, 116 days		Shiromani Akali Dal	3rd
-	Vacant (state under President's rule)		5 July 1966	1 November 1966	119 days
Since 1966 (Punjab)
(3)	Gurnam Singh (Raikot)		1 November 1966	8 March 1967	127 days		Shiromani Akali Dal	3rd
4	Gian Singh Rarewala (Payal)		9 March 1967	24 November 1967	260 days		Indian National Congress	4th
(3)	Gurnam Singh (Qila Raipur)		24 November 1967	23 August 1968	273 days		Akali Dal - Sant Fateh Singh
-	Vacant (state under President's rule)		23 August 1968	17 February 1969	178 days		-	-
5	Major Harinder Singh (Ajnala)		17 February 1969	14 June 1971	2 years, 117 days		Indian National Congress	5th
-	Vacant (state under President's rule)		14 June 1971	16 March 1972	276 days		-	-
6	Jaswinder Singh Brar (Kotkapura)		16 March 1972	2 October 1972	200 days		Shiromani Akali Dal	6th
7	Prakash Singh Badal (Gidderbaha)		2 October 1972	30 April 1977	4 years, 210 days
-	Vacant (state under President's rule)		30 April 1977	19 June 1977	50 days		-	-
8	Balram Jakhar (Abohar)		19 June 1977	17 February 1980	2 years, 243 days		Indian National Congress	7th
-	Vacant (state under President's rule)		17 February 1980	7 June 1980	111 days		-	-
(7)	Prakash Singh Badal (Gidderbaha)		7 June 1980	7 October 1983	3 years, 122 days		Shiromani Akali Dal	8th
-	Vacant (state under President's rule)		7 October 1983	29 September 1985	1 year, 357 days		-	-
9	Gurbinder Kaur Brar (Muktsar)		29 September 1985	11 May 1987	1 year, 224 days		Indian National Congress	9th
-	Vacant (state under President's rule)		11 May 1987	25 February 1992	4 years, 290 days		-	-
10	Satnam Singh Kainth (Phillaur)		25 February 1992	12 February 1997	4 years, 353 days		Bahujan Samaj Party	10th
11	Rajinder Kaur Bhattal (Lehra)		12 February 1997	10 October 1998	1 year, 240 days		Indian National Congress	11th
12	Chaudhary Jagjit Singh (Kartarpur)		10 October 1998	26 February 2002	3 years, 139 days
(7)	Prakash Singh Badal (Lambi)		26 February 2002	1 March 2007	5 years, 3 days		Shiromani Akali Dal	12th
(11)	Rajinder Kaur Bhattal (Lehra)		12 March 2007	14 March 2012	5 years, 2 days		Indian National Congress	13th
13	Sunil Kumar Jakhar (Abohar)		19 March 2012	11 December 2015	3 years, 267 days			14th
14	Charanjit Singh Channi (Chamkaur Sahib)		11 December 2015	11 November 2016	336 days
-	Vacant (all opposition members resigned against SYL canal issue)		11 November 2016	16 March 2017	125 days		-
15	Harvinder Singh Phoolka (Dakha)		16 March 2017	9 July 2017	115 days		Aam Aadmi Party	15th
16	Sukhpal Singh Khaira (Bholath)		9 July 2017	26 July 2018	1 year, 17 days
17	Harpal Singh Cheema (Dirba)		27 July 2018	16 March 2022	3 years, 232 days
18	Partap Singh Bajwa (Quadian)		9 April 2022	Incumbent	2 years, 255 days		Indian National Congress	16th

Deputy Leader of Opposition

Name (constituency)	Tenure		Party		Leader of Opposition	Assembly
Rattan Singh (Garshankar)	9 March 1967	24 November 1967		Indian National Congress	Gian Singh Rarewala	4th
Sardari Lal Kapoor (Ludhiana North)	17 February 1969	1970		Indian National Congress	Major Harinder Singh	5th
Surjit Singh Atwal (Phillaur)	1970	14 June 1971
Umrao Singh (Nakodar)	19 June 1977	17 February 1980		Indian National Congress	Balram Jakhar	7th
Nirmal Singh Nimma (Bhadaur)	25 February 1992	12 February 1997		Bahujan Samaj Party	Satnam Singh Kainth	10th
Bharat Bhushan Ashu (Ludhiana West)	11 December 2015	11 November 2016		Indian National Congress	Charanjit Singh Channi	14th
Sarvjit Kaur Manuke (Jagraon)	16 March 2017	16 March 2022		Aam Admi Party	Harvinder Singh Phoolka, Sukhpal Singh Khaira, Harpal Singh Cheema	15th
Raj Kumar Chabbewal (Chabbewal)	9 April 2022	15 March 2024		Indian National Congress	Partap Singh Bajwa	16th
Aruna Chaudhary (Dinanagar)	3 September 2024	Incumbent

References

1. "Salary and Allowances of Leaders of Opposition in Parliament Act, 1977". Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs, Government of India. Archived from the original on 16 January 2010. Retrieved 1 October 2012.
2. Salary and Allowances of Leader of Opposition in Legislative Assembly Act 1978
3. Role of Leader of Opposition in India
4. Role of Opposition in Parliament of India