New Delhi, May 23: With Lok Sabha elections results showing thumping victory for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and marginal gain for the Congress party, it now appears that the grand old party might lose the Leader of Opposition (LoP) post in Lok Sabha yet again. A party needs to win at least one-tenth of the total Lok Sabha seats to claim the LoP post in the lower House of Parliament.

Lok Sabha has a total of 543 seats apart from 2 nominated members. It means a party needs to have a minimum of 55 lawmakers to claim the LoP post. According to results available till 3 pm, the Congress party was leading on 51 seats. To make matters worse for Congress, Congress's legislative party leader in Lok Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, too, is trailing behind from Gulbarga seat which he has been representing the seat since 2009. PM Narendra Modi Tweets 'India Wins Yet Again' As BJP Heads Towards Historic Victory in Lok Sabha Elections 2019.

In 2014 too, Congress had fallen short of the required numbers and had won only 44 seats. While the Congress asserted that the party deserves the post because it is the single largest opposition party, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) denied granting the LoP status to the grand old party arguing that it does not have the requisite strength. A petition was also filed in the Supreme Court seeking that the Leader of Opposition (LoP) status in Lok Sabha be granted to Congress party. Lok Sabha Elections 2019 Results Live News Updates.

However, a Supreme Court bench, headed by the then Chief Justice RM Lodha, refused to entertain the petition saying it cannot decide political issues filed under the garb of Public Interest Litigation.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 23, 2019 03:48 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).