Consider the following statements: 1) In the first Lok Sabha, the single 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. 3) In the Lok Sabha, if a party does not have a minimum of 75 members, its leader cannot be recognised as the Leader of the Opposition. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

The correct answer is B. Only statement 2 is correct.

Statement 1 is wrong. The largest opposition party in the first Lok Sabha (1952-57) was the Praja Socialist Party, with about 19 seats. The Swatantra Party was founded only in 1959, so it was never part of the first Lok Sabha.

Statement 2 is correct. The Lok Sabha formally recognised a Leader of the Opposition for the first time in 1969, when Ram Subhag Singh of Congress (Organisation) was given the post.

Statement 3 is wrong. The threshold is not 75. The Salary and Allowances of Leaders of Opposition in Parliament Act, 1977 requires a party to have at least one-tenth of the total House strength, which works out to 55 members in the 543-member Lok Sabha.

The core concept is the institutional role of the Opposition. The LoP sits on selection committees for bodies such as the Lokpal and the CBI Director, which makes the recognition rules a useful Polity point for Mains on checks and balances.

Trap: Candidates half-remember the 1977 Act but confuse its threshold with the number 75, or pick an option on the strength of a vague recollection of the 1969 date.