# List of leaders of the opposition in the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council

The Leader of the Opposition in the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council is the politician who leads the official opposition in the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council.

## Eligibility

Official Opposition is a term used in Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council to designate the political party which has secured the second largest number of seats in the council. In order to get formal recognition, the party must have at least 10% of total membership of the Legislative Council. 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.

## 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.

## List of leaders of the opposition of Uttar Pradesh

| No | Portrait | Name | Constituency | Tenure | Tenure | Tenure | Party |
| 1 | | Kunwar Guru Narayan | | 30 September 1954 | 17 May 1959 | 4 years, 229 days | Progressive Parliament |
| 2 | | Abdul Jaleel Faridi | | 12 August 1959 | 28 March 1960 | 229 days | Praja Socialist Party |
| Vacant since no opposition party had 10% seats | Vacant since no opposition party had 10% seats | Vacant since no opposition party had 10% seats | Vacant since no opposition party had 10% seats | 28 March 1960 | 14 April 1967 | 7 years, 17 days | N/A |
| 3 | | Hukum Singh Visen | | 14 April 1967 | 17 April 1971 | 4 years, 3 days | Indian National Congress |
| 4 | | Kailash Prakash | | 3 January 1972 | | | Indian National Congress (O) |
| 5 | | Ram Gopal | | 20 June 1974 | 8 August 1974 | 49 days | Bharatiya Kranti Dal |
| 6 | | Brahm Dutt | | 14 January 1975 | 18 February 1975 | 35 days | Bharatiya Kranti Dal |
| 7 | | Gauri Shankar Rai | | 18 February 1975 | | | Bharatiya Kranti Dal |
| (6) | | Brahm Dutt | | 30 March 1976 | 4 February 1977 | 311 days | Lokdal |
| 8 | | Harikishan Srivastava | | 17 March 1977 | 11 July 1977 | 116 days | Lokdal |
| (6) | | Brahm Dutt | | 12 July 1977 | 5 May 1980 | 2 years, 298 days | Indian National Congress (I) |
| 9 | | Mahipal Shastri | | 3 July 1980 | 26 April 1982 | 1 year, 297 days | Lokdal |
| 10 | | Mulayam Singh Yadav | | 26 June 1982 | 8 November 1984 | 2 years, 135 days | Lokdal |
| Vacant since no opposition party had 10% seats | Vacant since no opposition party had 10% seats | Vacant since no opposition party had 10% seats | Vacant since no opposition party had 10% seats | 8 November 1984 | 13 June 1990 | 5 years, 217 days | N/A |
| 11 | | Ammar Rizvi | | 13 June 1990 | 6 July 1992 | 2 years, 23 days | Indian National Congress |
| 12 | | Sushila Rohatgi | | 27 July 1992 | 5 May 1994 | 1 year, 282 days | Indian National Congress |
| 13 | | Maharani Dohre | | 23 August 1994 | 2 June 1995 | 283 days | Indian National Congress |
| 14 | | Rama Shankar Kaushik | | 3 June 1995 | 6 March 1996 | 277 days | Samajwadi Party |
| 15 | | Om Prakash Sharma | Meerut Teachers | 25 April 1997 | 22 January 1998 | 272 days | Independent |
| 16 | | Ahmed Hasan | MLA's | 23 January 1998 | 29 August 2003 | 5 years, 218 days | Samajwadi Party |
| 17 | | Naipal Singh | Bareilly–Moradabad Graduates | 3 September 2003 | 19 May 2007 | 3 years, 258 days | Bharatiya Janata Party |
| 18 | | Ahmed Hasan | MLA's | 19 May 2007 | 16 March 2012 | 4 years, 302 days | Samajwadi Party |
| 19 | | Nasimuddin Siddiqui | MLA's | 16 March 2012 | 28 March 2017 | 5 years, 12 days | Bahujan Samaj Party |
| (16) | | Ahmed Hasan | MLA's | 28 March 2017 | 20 February 2022 | 4 years, 329 days | Samajwadi Party |
| 20 | | Sanjay Lathar | Nominated | 28 March 2022 | 26 May 2022 | 59 days | Samajwadi Party |
| 21 | | Lal Bihari Yadav | Varanasi Teachhers | 26 May 2022 | 6 July 2022 | 41 days | Samajwadi Party |
| Vacant since no opposition party has 10% seats | Vacant since no opposition party has 10% seats | Vacant since no opposition party has 10% seats | Vacant since no opposition party has 10% seats | 6 July 2022 | 22 July 2024 | 2 years, 16 days | N/A |
| (21) | | Lal Bihari Yadav | Varanasi Teachhers | 22 July 2024 | present | 228 days | Samajwadi Party |