<P> In Rajya Sabha until 1969, there was no Leader of the Opposition in real sense of the term . Till then, the practice was to call the Leader of the party in Opposition having the largest number of the members as the Leader of the Opposition, without according him any formal recognition, status or privilege . The office of Leader of the Opposition was given official recognition through the Salary and Allowances of Leaders of the Opposition in Parliament Act, 1977 . This Act defines the Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha, as a member of the Council of States who is, for the time being, the Leader in that House of the party in opposition to the Government constituting the greatest numerical strength and recognised as such by the Chairman of the Council of States . Thus, the Leader of the Opposition should satisfy three conditions, namely, (i) he should be a member of the House (ii) the Leader in Rajya Sabha of the party in opposition to the Government having the greatest numerical strength and (iii) be recognised as such by the Chairman, Rajya Sabha . </P> <P> Following members have been the Leaders of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha . </P> <Table> <Tr> <Th> </Th> <Th> Name </Th> <Th> Party </Th> <Th> Term </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> Shyam Nandan Prasad Mishra </Td> <Td> Indian National Congress (O) </Td> <Td> December 1969--March 1971 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> M.S. Gurupadaswamy </Td> <Td> March 1971--April 1972 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> Kamalapati Tripathi </Td> <Td> Indian National Congress </Td> <Td> 30 March 1977--15 February 1978 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> Bhola Paswan Shastri </Td> <Td> Indian National Congress (O) </Td> <Td> 24 February 1978--23 March 1978 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> Kamalapati Tripathi </Td> <Td> Indian National Congress </Td> <Td> 23 March 1978--8 January 1980 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 6 </Td> <Td> L.K. Advani </Td> <Td> Bharatiya Jana Sangh </Td> <Td> 21 January 1980--7 April 1980 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 7 </Td> <Td> P. Shiv Shankar </Td> <Td> Indian National Congress </Td> <Td> 18 December 1989--2 January 1991 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 8 </Td> <Td> M.S. Gurupadaswamy </Td> <Td> Janata Dal </Td> <Td> 28 June--21 July 1991 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 9 </Td> <Td> S. Jaipal Reddy </Td> <Td> 22 July 1991--29 June 1992 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 10 </Td> <Td> Sikander Bakht </Td> <Td> Bharatiya Janata Party </Td> <Td> 7 July 1992--23 May 1996 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 11 </Td> <Td> Shankarrao Chavan </Td> <Td> Indian National Congress </Td> <Td> 23 May 1996--1 June 1996 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 12 </Td> <Td> Sikander Bakht </Td> <Td> Bharatiya Janata Party </Td> <Td> 1 June 1996--19 March 1998 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 13 </Td> <Td> Manmohan Singh </Td> <Td> Indian National Congress </Td> <Td> 21 March 1998--21 May 2004 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 14 </Td> <Td> Jaswant Singh </Td> <Td> Bharatiya Janata Party </Td> <Td> 3 June 2004--16 May 2009 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 15 </Td> <Td> Arun Jaitley </Td> <Td> 3 June 2009--26 May 2014 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 16 </Td> <Td> Ghulam Nabi Azad </Td> <Td> Indian National Congress </Td> <Td> 8 June 2014 - incumbent </Td> </Tr> </Table> <Tr> <Th> </Th> <Th> Name </Th> <Th> Party </Th> <Th> Term </Th> </Tr>

Who was the first leader of opposition in rajya sabha