Consider the following statements: 1) In the first Lok Sabha, the largest party in the opposition was the Swatantra Party. 2) In the Lok Sabha, a “Leader of the Opposition” was recognised for the first time in 1969. [2018]

Consider the following statements:

In the first Lok Sabha, the largest party in the opposition was the Swatantra Party.
In the Lok Sabha, a “Leader of the Opposition” was recognised for the first time in 1969.
In the Lok Sabha, if a party does not have a minimum of 75 members, its leader cannot be recognized as the Leader of the Opposition.

In the First Lok Sabha, the single largest opposition party was the Communist Party of India, not the Swatantra Party.

Election Period: Held between October 25, 1951, and February 21, 1952.
Chief Election Commissioner: Organised by India’s first CEC, Sukumar Sen.
Lok Sabha Seats: A total of 489 seats were contested across 401 constituencies. Since some had more than one seat assigned to them.
A total of 53 political parties participated.
14 were considered national parties, and the rest were state parties.
Indian National Congress (INC): The dominant party in the election. Won 364 of the 479 seats contested.
Communist Party of India (CPI): Runner-up party with 16 seats.
Socialist Party: Led by Jayaprakash Narayan and Ram Manohar Lohia. Secured 12 seats out of 254 contested.

It was founded in the year 1959 by leaders opposing the socialist policies of the Congress government. Some of the prominent leaders of the time, including C Rajagopalachari, Minoo Masani and N G Ranga collaborated to form a liberal-conservative party. The party stood for market-based economy and the dismantling of the license raj. Contested its first general election in the year 1962. The Swatantra Party eventually joined the umbrella opposition to Indira Gandhi’s Congress (R) after the emergency years, the Janata Party dwindling into insignificance thereafter.

The Leader of the Opposition was officially recognised for the first time in 1969.
- In 1969, in the fourth Lok Sabha, following the split in the Congress, the leader of the Congress (O), Ram Subhag Singh, became the first person to be formally recognised and given the status of leader of the opposition.

The Salary and Allowances of Leaders of Opposition in Parliament Act, 1977 defines the Leader of the Opposition as the member who leads the largest opposition party in either House and is recognised by the presiding officer. Although the Act does not explicitly mention the 10% membership requirement, it is implied through the recognition condition. Directions 120 and 121, issued under Rule 389 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Lok Sabha, lay down the criteria for recognition of parties or groups. These directions were issued by the first Lok Sabha Speaker, G. V. Mavalankar, and are popularly known as Mavalankar’s Rule.
As per Direction 121(1)(c), a party must have at least one-tenth of the total membership (quorum strength) to be recognised. Accordingly, in the present Lok Sabha, a party must have at least 55 members for its leader to be recognised as the Leader of the Opposition.