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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, 274 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 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.

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.

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, 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)

S.No.		Portrait	Name (birth-death) (Constituency)	Tenure		Party	Election	Government
				Took office	Left office			Premier	Party
1			Gopi Chand Bhargava (1899-1966) (Lahore City)	5 April 1937	1940	Indian National Congress	1937	Sikandar Hayat Khan (1937-1942) Malik Khizar Hayat Tiwana (1942-1945)	Unionist Party
2			Bhim Sen Sachar 1894-1978 (N-W Town)	1940	5 February 1945
-		Vacant (Assembly under dissolution)		5 February 1945	21 March 1946	-
3			Iftikhar Hussain Khan (1906-1969) (Ferozpur General)	21 March 1946	2 March 1947	All-India Muslim League	1946	Malik Khizar Hayat Tiwana	Unionist Party
-		Vacant (Assembly under dissolution)		2 March 1947	15 August 1947	-

After independence (1947-till now)

S.No.		Portrait	Name (birth-death) (Constituency)	Tenure		Party	Election (Assembly)	Government
				Took office	Left office			Chief Minister	Party
-		Vacant (No official opposition)		15 August 1947	20 June 1951	-	1946 (Interim)	Gopi Chand Bhargava (1947-1949) (1949-1951) Bhim Sen Sachar (Ap. 1949-Oct. 1949)	Indian National Congress
-		Vacant (Assembly under dissolution)		20 June 1951	17 April 1952	-
1			Gopal Singh Khalsa (1903-1979) (Jagraon)	17 April 1952	11 April 1956	Shiromani Akali Dal	1952 (First)	Bhim Sen Sachar (1952-1956) Partap Singh Kairon (1956-1964)	Indian National Congress
-		Vacant (No official opposition)		11 April 1956	9 April 1957	-
2			Baldev Prakash (1922-1992) (Amritsar City East)	9 April 1957	11 March 1962	Bharatiya Jana Sangh	1957 (Second)	Partap Singh Kairon
3			Gurnam Singh (1899-1973) (Raikot)	11 March 1962	5 July 1966	Shiromani Akali Dal	1962 (Third)	Partap Singh Kairon (1956-1964) Gopi Chand Bhargava (1964) Ram Kishan (1964-1966)
-		Vacant (Assembly under suspension)		5 July 1966	1 November 1966	-		-
(3)			Gurnam Singh (1899-1973) (Raikot)	1 November 1966	8 March 1967	Shiromani Akali Dal		Giani Gurmukh Singh Musafir	Indian National Congress
4			Gian Singh Rarewala (1901-1979) (Payal)	9 March 1967	24 November 1967	Indian National Congress	1967 (Fourth)	Gurnam Singh	Akali Dal – Sant Fateh Singh Group
(3)			Gurnam Singh (1899-1973) (Qila Raipur)	24 November 1967	23 August 1968	Akali Dal – Sant Fateh Singh Group		Lachhman Singh	Punjab Janata Party
-		Vacant (Assembly under dissolution)		23 August 1968	17 February 1969	-
5			Harinder Singh (1917-1972) (Ajnala)	17 February 1969	14 June 1971	Indian National Congress	1969 (Fifth)	Gurnam Singh (1969-1970) Parkash Singh Badal 1970-1971	Shiromani Akali Dal
-		Vacant (Assembly under dissolution)		14 June 1971	16 March 1972	-
6			Jaswinder Singh Brar (1938-1993) (Kotkapura)	16 March 1972	2 October 1972	Shiromani Akali Dal	1972 (Sixth)	Zail Singh	Indian National Congress
7			Parkash Singh Badal (1927-2023) (Gidderbaha)	2 October 1972	30 April 1977
-		Vacant (Assembly under dissolution)		30 April 1977	19 June 1977	-
8			Balram Jakhar (1923-2016) (Abohar)	19 June 1977	17 February 1980	Indian National Congress	1977 (Seventh)	Parkash Singh Badal	Shiromani Akali Dal
-		Vacant (Assembly under dissolution)		17 February 1980	7 June 1980	-
(7)			Parkash Singh Badal (1927-2023) (Gidderbaha)	7 June 1980	7 October 1983	Shiromani Akali Dal	1980 (Eighth)	Darbara Singh	Indian National Congress
-		Vacant (Assembly under dissolution)		7 October 1983	29 September 1985	-
9			Gurbinder Kaur Brar (1922-2013) (Muktsar)	29 September 1985	11 May 1987	Indian National Congress	1985 (Ninth)	Surjit Singh Barnala	Shiromani Akali Dal
-		Vacant (Assembly under dissolution)		11 May 1987	25 February 1992	-
10			Satnam Singh Kainth (1961-2018) (Phillaur)	25 February 1992	12 February 1997	Bahujan Samaj Party	1992 (Tenth)	Beant Singh (1992-1995) Harcharan Singh Brar (1995-1996) Rajinder Kaur Bhattal (1996-1997)	Indian National Congress
11			Rajinder Kaur Bhattal (b. 1945) (Lehra)	12 February 1997	10 October 1998	Indian National Congress	1997 (Eleventh)	Parkash Singh Badal	Shiromani Akali Dal
12			Jagjit Singh (1934-2015) (Kartarpur)	10 October 1998	26 February 2002
(7)			Parkash Singh Badal (1927-2023) (Lambi)	26 February 2002	1 March 2007	Shiromani Akali Dal	2002 (Twelfth)	Amarinder Singh	Indian National Congress
(11)			Rajinder Kaur Bhattal (b. 1945) (Lehra)	1 March 2007	14 March 2012	Indian National Congress	2007 (Thirteen)	Parkash Singh Badal	Shiromani Akali Dal
13			Sunil Kumar Jakhar (b. 1954) (Abohar)	19 March 2012	11 December 2015		2012 (Fourteen)
14			Charanjit Singh Channi (b. 1963) (Chamkaur Sahib)	11 December 2015	11 November 2016
-		Vacant (No official opposition)		11 November 2016	16 March 2017	-
15			Harvinder Singh Phoolka (b. 1955) (Dakha)	16 March 2017	9 July 2017	Aam Admi Party	2017 (Fifteen)	Amarinder Singh (2017-2021) Charanjit Singh Channi (2021-2022)	Indian National Congress
16			Sukhpal Singh Khaira (b. 1965) (Bolath)	9 July 2017	26 July 2018
17			Harpal Singh Cheema (b. 1974) (Dirba)	27 July 2018	16 March 2022
18			Pratap Singh Bajwa (b. 1957) (Quadian)	9 April 2022	Incumbent	Indian National Congress	2022 (Sixteen)	Bhagwant Mann	Aam Admi Party

Deputy Leader of Opposition

This is not a comprehensive list and based on information received from news articles, Punjab assembly debates and Punjab assembly compendium. Thus, the serial number is not mentioned.

See also

• List of current Indian opposition leaders
• List of female leader of the opposition in India

Notes

1. All opposition members joined the Government.
2. All opposition members resigned against SYL canal issue.

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

• Leaders of the Opposition in Punjab, India
• Lists of Leaders of the Opposition of Indian states and territories
• Lists of people from Punjab, India