New Delhi - Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s chief rival Rahul Gandhi was nominated on Saturday to lead India’s opposition in parliament after an election result that rescued his party from the political wilderness. Gandhi defied analysts’ expectations and exit polls to help his Congress party nearly double its parliamentary numbers, its best result since Modi was swept to power a decade ago. A meeting of the Congress leadership on Saturday voted unanimously to recommendGandhi’s election as India’s official opposition leader, a post that had been left vacant since 2014. “All participants unanimously passed the resolution that Rahul Gandhi should take the position of leader of opposition in the parliament,” K.C. The nomination will be put before a meeting of the 232 lawmakers belonging to a Congress-led opposition alliance later on Saturday.