Indian National Congress (INC) president Sonia Gandhi appointed Gaurav Gogoi as the party's deputy leader in the Lok Sabha.

Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, the leader of the opposition party in the Lok Sabha, and K Suresh, its chief whip in the Lower House, confirmed the development to PTI today.

The opposition party did not have a deputy leader in the Lok Sabha till now. Gogoi hails from Assam, where Assembly polls are due early next year. The MP from the Kaliabor Lok Sabha constituency was the party's whip in the House till now and has been elevated.

Concurrently, Ludhiana MP Ravneet Singh Bittu as its whip in the Lower House of Parliament on Thursday. Another MP from Kerala, Manickam Tagore, is the other whip of the party in the Lower House, the report added.

The appointments came ahead of the Monsoon Session of Parliament, which is likely to commence from September 14. It is seen as a move by the Congress to strengthen its team of floor leaders in the Lower House, party leaders said as reported by PTI.