Advani elected leader of opposition

Veteran Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader L K Advani was Sunday formally elected as leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha.

A meeting of the BJP MPs here also discussed probable names for the deputy leader's post, besides the party's strategy for the first session of the house beginning Monday though details were not disclosed.

Party stalwarts Jaswant Singh (Lok Sabha) and M Venkaiah Naidu (Rajya Sabha) proposed Advani's name and he was unanimously elected.

Elected from the Gandhinagar constituency in Gujarat for the fourth time in a row, Advani, 81, was leader of opposition in the previous Lok Sabha too. He has been an MP six times.

The first session of the 15th Lok Sabha begins Monday with the swearing in of new members. The speaker will be elected June 3, and President Pratibha Patil will address a joint session of both houses June 4.

Lal Krishan Advani to continue as Leader of Opposition - Rajnath

Lal Krishan Advani, the outgoing Leader of Opposition in the 14th Lok Sabha will return to the same bench in the 15th Lok Sabha too. LK Advani has “agreed” to continue as Leader of Opposition in Parliament, announced BJP President Rajnath Singh after a prolonged meeting of senior leaders of the party, held at his residence here today.

He said, "When Advani was informed that the party needed his leadership and guidance to rebuild itself to meet the challenges of the future, as it suffered a setback in the Lok Sabha elections, he agreed not to press his request," Singh added.