Leader of the House (Vishwamitra)

Leader of the House
नेता सदन
Logo of the Leader of the House
Incumbent Duke Farhaz Hazarika since 9 November 2022
Style	His Excellency The Most Honourable
Member of	Lok Sabha
Reports to	Lok Sabha
Nominator	Prime Minister
Appointer	Lok Sabha/Prime Minister
Term length	No fixed term
Inaugural holder	Arnisha Phatowali
Formation	2007 (2007)

The Leader of the House in Lok Sabha (Hindi: लोकसभा में सदन के नेता) is the parliamentary chairperson of the party or coalition that holds the majority in the Lok Sabha and is responsible for the government business in the parliament. The office-holder is usually the prime minister and occasionally a very senior cabinet minister of the government.

The leader of the house is assisted by a deputy leader who is most senior minister in the government after the prime minister or the minister who is serving as the leader. The deputy leader performs the duties of the leader in the case of their leave, absence, removal, resignation, or death.

The current leader of the house in the 15th Lok Sabha is Prime Minister Duke Farhaz Hazarika of the National People's Congress.

History

The leader of the house was for the first time occupied by Arnisha Phatowali, the first prime minister in the interim parliament and later formally by Dhrubajyoti Roy in 2010 after the constitution of the 1st Lok Sabha. Ten individuals have served as the leader of the house of whom seven were the prime ministers. Three other individuals who served as the leader of the house were senior cabinet ministers. It was for the first time in December 2014 when a non-prime minister was appointed as the leader of the house. Following the resignation of Sarala Baishya] as the prime minister on 27 December 2014, then Social Welfare minister Anoushkaa Patranabish was appointed as the leader of the house.

In April 2017, then prime minister Dhrubajyoti Roy was replaced by Sarala Baishya who was not an elected member of the parliament and nor was her deputy Arnab Sil. Thus, the next senior most cabinet minister Abhiraj Kar who was the Minister of External Affairs, Corporate Affairs and Social Justice, was chosen to become the leader of the house. A similar instance occured in December the same year when then president Dhrubajyoti Roy became the prime minister, however him not being a member of the house, was ineligible to become the leader. He, then, nominated his deputy Tanishkaa Patranabish to act as the leader of the house and replaced her after being elected during the 2018 general election.

Asmi Patranabis and Bishnu Chetry also served as the leaders of the house when the prime minister was not a member of the house. Bishnu Chetry holds the dignity of being the only non-prime minister to serving as the leader of the house for two non-consecutive terms.

Responsibility

There are not any formally and constitutionally listed responsibilities of the leader of the house. However, conventionally they are vested upon with several duties and functions, which include:

• Managing and announcing the business of the Lok Sabha weekly and facilitating motions and debate in the house, particularly on House business.
• Government’s representative in the House.
• Parliamentary reform and policy.

Leaders of the house

Term	Portrait	Name (born – died) Constituency	Tenure in office			Other ministerial offices held as leader	Political party		Government	Prime Minister
			From	To	Time in office
Interim		Arnisha Phatowali अर्निशा फतोवाली (born 2000) Representative	15 April 2007	31 December 2009	7002991000000000000♠2 years, 260 days	Prime Minister		Independent	Arnisha	Self
1st		Dhrubajyoti Roy ध्रुबज्योति रॉय (born 2002) MP for Maligaon	12 January 2010	22 May 2012	7003159000000000000♠4 years, 129 days	Prime Minister			Dhrubajyoti I	Self
2nd			22 May 2012	21 May 2014					Dhrubajyoti II
3rd		Sarala Baishya सरला वैश्य (born 2005) MP for Basant Bahar	21 May 2014	27 December 2014	7002220000000000000♠220 days	Prime Minister Minister of Finance			Sarala I	Self
		Anoushkaa Patranabish अनुष्का पत्रनबिश (born 2010) MP for Beltola II	27 December 2014	22 February 2015	7001570000000000000♠57 days	Minister of Social Welfare				Dhrubajyoti Roy (Acting)
4th		Tanishkaa Patranabish तनिष्का पत्रनबिश (born 2004) MP for Beltola	22 February 2015	6 December 2015	7002287000000000000♠287 days	Prime Minister			Tanishkaa I	Self
5th		Sarala Baishya सरला वैश्य (born 2005) MP for Basant Bahar	6 December 2015	11 April 2016	7002127000000000000♠127 days	Prime Minister			Sarala II	Self
6th		Dhrubajyoti Roy ध्रुबज्योति रॉय (born 2002) MP for Maligaon	11 April 2016	30 December 2016	7002366000000000000♠1 year, 1 day	Prime Minister Minister of Culture Minister of External Affairs (Oct-Dec 2016) Minister of Home Affairs (Dec 2016-Apr 2017)		Secular Party	Dhrubajyoti III	Self
7th			30 December 2016	12 April 2017					Dhrubajyoti IV
		Abhiraj Kar अभिराज कर (born 2006) MP for Vinovanagar	12 April 2017	5 July 2017	7001840000000000000♠84 days	Minister of External Affairs, Corporate Affairs, Social Justice		Independent Party	Sarala III	Sarala Baishya
8th		Tanishkaa Patranabish तनिष्का पत्रनबिश (born 2004) MP for Beltola	5 July 2017	25 December 2017	7002259000000000000♠259 days	Prime Minister Minister of Finance		Secular Party	Tanishkaa II	Self
			25 December 2017	21 March 2018		Deputy Prime Minister Minister of Finance			Dhrubajyoti V	Dhrubajyoti Roy
9th		Dhrubajyoti Roy ध्रुबज्योति रॉय (born 2002) MP for Maligaon	21 March 2018	13 May 2018	7001530000000000000♠53 days	Prime Minister Minister of Internal Affairs, Art and Literature		Congress	Dhrubajyoti VI	Self
		Tanishkaa Patranabish तनिष्का पत्रनबिश (born 2004) MP for Beltola	14 May 2018	11 September 2018	7002120000000000000♠120 days	President of the Council of Ministers Chancellor of the Treasury		Secular Party	Tanishkaa III	Self
		Asmi Patranabis अस्मी पत्रनाबिस (born 2007) MP for Bhetapara	11 September 2018	12 October 2018	7001310000000000000♠31 days	Vice President of the Council of Ministers				Dhrubajyoti Roy
		Bishnu Chetry बिष्णु छेत्री (born 2001) MP for Kalapani	12 October 2018	6 January 2019	7001860000000000000♠86 days	Minister of Defence and Cabinet Affairs		Congress	Dhrubajyoti VII
10th		Tanishkaa Patranabish तनिष्का पत्रनबिश (born 2004) MP for Basant Bahar	7 January 2019	15 March 2019	7001670000000000000♠67 days	Prime Minister Minister of Finance (Jan-Jun 2019) Minister of Defence (Jun-Aug 2019) Minister of External Affairs Minister of Personnel, Appointments and Administrative Reforms (Mar-Apr 2020)		Secular Party	Tanishkaa IV	Self
11th			17 March 2019	3 March 2020	7002352000000000000♠352 days			Congress	Tanishkaa V
12th			22 March 2020	30 Apr 2020	7001390000000000000♠39 days			Congress	Tanishkaa VI
		Bishnu Chetry बिष्णु छेत्री (born 2001) MP for Kalapani	10 May 2020	7 June 2020	7001280000000000000♠28 days	Senior Minister Minister of Home Affairs			Tanishkaa VII
		Princess Anoushkaa राजकुमारी अनुष्का (born 2010) MP for Beltola Urban	8 June 2020	28 January 2021	7002234000000000000♠234 days	Prime Minister Minister of Finance			Anoushkaa II	Self
13th		Duke Ștefan Marius Snagoveanu स्टेफन मारियस स्नागोवेनु (born 2004) MP for Rajagriha	6 March 2021	9 September 2021	7002187000000000000♠187 days	Prime Minister Minister of External Affairs			Ștefan II	Self
		Duke Farhaz Hazarika (born 2003) MP for Basistha City (13th and 15th), Rashtra Niwas (14th)	11 September 2021	21 October 2021	7001400000000000000♠40 days	Prime Minister Minister of Home Affairs			Farhaz I	Self
14th			22 November 2021	3 October 2022	7002315000000000000♠315 days	Prime Minister Minister of Home Affairs (until Aug 2022)			Farhaz II
								Independent	Farhaz III
15th			9 November 2022	Incumbent	7001840000000000000♠84 days	Prime Minister and Minister of Environment and Natural Resources		Congress	Farhaz IV

Deputy leaders of the house

The deputy leader of the house is the second most senior member of the government after the leader of the house, who represents the government in the floor of the house in the absence of the leader. In case of the demise, resignation or removal of the leader of the house, the deputy leader becomes the acting leader of the house until a permanent leader is chosen. In most cases when the prime ministers served as the leader of the house, it was their deputy prime minister who acted as the deputy leader or in the absence of a deputy prime minister, the most senior cabinet minister. The current deputy leader of the house in the 15th Lok Sabha is Count Rafe Burfield, the current Minister of External Affairs, Culture, and Cabinet Affairs.

Term	Portrait	Name (born – died) Constituency	Tenure in office			Other ministerial offices held as leader	Political party		Government	Leader of the House
			From	To	Time in office
Interim		Dhrubajyoti Roy ध्रुबज्योति रॉय (born 2002) Representative	15 April 2007	31 December 2009	7002991000000000000♠2 years, 260 days	Deputy Prime Minister Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Minister of Sports, and Child Welfare (2007-2008)		Independent	Arnisha	Arnisha Phatowali
1st		Tanishkaa Patranabish तनिष्का पत्रनबिश (born 2004) MP for Beltola	12 January 2010	22 May 2012	7003159000000000000♠4 years, 129 days	Minister of Finance, Minister of Sports, and Child Welfare			Dhrubajyoti I	Dhrubajyoti Roy
2nd			22 May 2012	21 May 2014		Minister of Education			Dhrubajyoti II
3rd		Anoushkaa Patranabish अनुष्का पत्रनबिश (born 2010) MP for Beltola II	21 May 2014	27 December 2014	7002220000000000000♠220 days	Minister of Social Welfare			Sarala I	Sarala Baishya
	Position vacant		27 December 2014	22 February 2015	7001570000000000000♠57 days	None				Anoushkaa Patranabish
4th		Anoushkaa Patranabish अनुष्का पत्रनबिश (born 2010) MP for Beltola II	22 February 2015	6 December 2015	7002588000000000000♠1 year, 223 days	Minister of Child Welfare			Tanishkaa I	Tanishkaa Patranabish
5th			6 December 2015	11 April 2016		Minister of Home Affairs			Sarala II	Sarala Baishya
6th			11 April 2016	2 October 2016		Deputy Prime Minister Minister of Sanitation and Cleanliness Campaign (Jul-Oct 2016)		Secular Party	Dhrubajyoti III	Dhrubajyoti Roy
		Tanishkaa Patranabish तनिष्का पत्रनबिश (born 2004) MP for Beltola	2 October 2016	30 December 2016	7002138000000000000♠138 days	Deputy Prime Minister Minister of Finance, Corporate Affairs, and Salaries Minister of Home Affairs, Law and Justice (Nov-Dec 2016)
7th			30 December 2016	17 February 2017		Deputy Prime Minister Minister of Home Affairs, Social Justice, and All Party Affairs			Dhrubajyoti IV
		Abhiraj Kar अभिराज कर (born 2006) MP for Vinovanagar	17 February 2017	12 April 2017	7001540000000000000♠54 days	Deputy Prime Minister Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Group Members Development		Independent Party
		Anirban Phatowali अनिर्बान फतोवाली (born 2009) MP for West Gotanagar	12 April 2017	5 July 2017	7001840000000000000♠84 days	Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Cabinet Affairs, and All Party Affairs			Sarala III	Abhiraj Kar
8th		Sarala Baishya सरला वैश्य (born 2005) MP for Basant Bahar	5 July 2017	25 December 2017	7002173000000000000♠173 days	Deputy Prime Minister Minister of Home Affairs			Tanishkaa II	Tanishkaa Patranabish
		Arnab Sil अर्नब सिल (born 2004) MP for Maligaon	25 December 2017	21 March 2018	7001860000000000000♠86 days	Deputy Prime Minister Minister of External Affairs, Information and Broadcasting		Freedom Party	Dhrubajyoti V	Tanishkaa Patranabish
9th		Tanishkaa Patranabish तनिष्का पत्रनबिश (born 2004) MP for Beltola	21 March 2018	13 May 2018	7001530000000000000♠53 days	Deputy Prime Minister Minister of Finance		Secular Party	Dhrubajyoti VI	Dhrubajyoti Roy
		Asmi Patranabis अस्मी पत्रनाबिस (born 2007) MP for Bhetapara	14 May 2018	11 September 2018	7002120000000000000♠120 days	Vice President of the Council of Ministers			Tanishkaa III	Tanishkaa Patranabish
		Bishnu Chetry बिष्णु छेत्री (born 2001) MP for Kalapani	11 September 2018	12 October 2018	7001310000000000000♠31 days	Cabinet Secretary		Congress		Asmi Patranabis
		Abhiraj Kar अभिराज कर (born 2006) MP for Vinovanagar	12 October 2018	6 January 2019	7001860000000000000♠86 days	Minister of External Affairs			Dhrubajyoti VII	Bishnu Chetry
10th		Bishnu Chetry बिष्णु छेत्री (born 2001) MP for Kalapani	7 January 2019	15 March 2019	7001670000000000000♠67 days	Minister of Home Affairs			Tanishkaa IV	Tanishkaa Patranabish
11th			17 March 2019	29 September 2019	7002196000000000000♠196 days	Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Home Affairs (Mar-Jun 2019) Senior Minister (Jun-Sep 2019) Minister of External Affairs Deputy Prime Minister			Tanishkaa V
		Anoushkaa Patranabish अनुष्का पत्रनबिश (born 2010) MP for Beltola Urban	29 September 2019	3 March 2020	7002156000000000000♠156 days	Deputy Prime Minister Minister of Home Affairs
12th			22 March 2020	30 April 2020	7001390000000000000♠39 days			Congress	Tanishkaa VI
		Arnab Sil अर्नब सिल (born 2004) MP for Maligaon	10 May 2020	7 June 2020	7001280000000000000♠28 days	Chief Cabinet Minister Minister of Finance			Tanishkaa VII	Bishnu Chetry
		Senior Prince Abhiraj वरिष्ठराजकुमार अभिराज (born 2006) MP for Vinovanagar	8 June 2020	28 January 2021	7002234000000000000♠234 days	Deputy Prime Minister Minister of Home Affairs and Internal Security Coordinating Minister of Political, Legal and Security Affairs (Jun-Aug 2020)			Anoushkaa II	Princess Anoushkaa
13th		Duke Farhaz Hazarika (born 2003) MP for Basistha City	6 March 2021	9 September 2021	7002187000000000000♠187 days	Minister of Home Affairs Deputy Prime Minister (from Jun 2021)			Ștefan II	Duke Ștefan Marius Snagoveanu
		Duke Michal Nowacki मिशल नोवाकी (born 2003) MP for National Capital Constituency	11 September 2021	21 October 2021	7001400000000000000♠40 days	Deputy Prime Minister Minister of National Defence			Farhaz I	Duke Farhaz Hazarika
14th			22 November 2021	27 December 2021	7001350000000000000♠35 days	Senior Minister Minister of National Defence			Farhaz II
		Duke Rory McPhail रोरी मैकफैल (born 2007) MP for Kalapani	27 December 2021	17 March 2022	7001800000000000000♠80 days	Minister of Parliamentary Affairs (until Feb 2022) Minister of External Affairs (until Jan 2022) Minister of Defence, Education (from Jan 2022)
			12 May 2022	3 October 2022	7002144000000000000♠144 days	Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence (until Jul 2022) Minister of Finance (from Jul 2022)		Independent	Farhaz III
15th		Count Rafe Burfield राफे बरफ़ील्ड (born 2005) MP for Chandril	9 November 2022	Incumbent	7001840000000000000♠84 days	Minister of External Affairs, Culture, and Cabinet Affairs		Congress	Farhaz IV

See also

• Lok Sabha
• Leader of the Opposition (Vishwamitra)