• Swearing-in scheduled for 8 June with TDP & JD(U) support 

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi yesterday (5) called on Indian President Droupadi Murmu at the Rashtrapati Bhavan and tendered his resignation along with the Union Council of Ministers after the Union Cabinet of Ministers Chaired by Modi recommended the dissolution of the 17th Lok Sabha.

Modi and the Union Council of Ministers will continue in office till the new Government is formed at the request of the President, the Rashtrapati Bhawan said.

The term of the current Lok Sabha ends on 16 June.

The development comes after the Election results for all the 543 seats were announced by the Election Commission of India early last morning. With the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) falling short of the magic number that would have given it sole majority in the Lok Sabha, the Party will have to rely on its allies to form the next Government. The BJP bagged a total of 240 seats, short of the majority marker of 272, and had called a meeting of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) parties in New Delhi yesterday. Adding up the seats won by the allies, the NDA has secured a comfortable majority. At the same time, none of the members of the Indian National Developmental, Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc crossed the majority mark. The bloc, which bagged over 200 seats, also held a meeting yesterday to chalk out its next steps.

Modi is expected to be sworn-in for a record equalling third term on 8 June, after key allies pledged their continued support a day after a humbling Election result that saw his Party lose its majority in the Parliament.

Modi, a populist who has dominated Indian politics since coming to power in 2014, will for the first time need the support of regional allies whose loyalties have wavered over the years, which could complicate the Government’s reform agenda. Yesterday, two allies in his NDA coalition, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), a key regional player in the Southern State of Andhra Pradesh, and the Janata Dal (United) (JD[U]) which rules the Northern State of Bihar, pledged their support. The Federal Cabinet met last morning and recommended the dissolution of the Parliament, a constitutional formality before Modi can form a new Government. 

Modi and his new Cabinet are scheduled to be sworn-in on 8 June, local media reported. The NDA won 293 seats in the 543-member Lower House of Parliament, more than the 272 needed to form a Government. Modi’s BJP won 240 seats on its own, a weakened verdict. The Party lost most ground in rural areas. Modi’s own victory in his seat of the Hindu City of Varanasi, was subdued, with his margin of victory down from nearly 500,000 votes at the last General Election in 2019 to a little more than 150,000. The opposition INDIA alliance led by Rahul Gandhi’s centrist Congress Party won 230 seats, more than forecast. Congress alone won 99, almost double the 52 it won in 2019, a surprise jump that is expected to boost Gandhi’s standing.

“The country has unanimously and clearly stated, we don’t want Modi and (former Home Affairs Minister) Amit Shah to be involved in the running of this country, we don’t like the way that they have run this country,” Gandhi told reporters, referring to Modi’s powerful number two, Shah. “That is a huge message.”

(The Hindu and Reuters)