PRESIDENT Droupadi Murmu dissolved the 17th Lok Sabha on Wednesday on the advice of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Cabinet, according to the Rashtrapati Bhawan. The Cabinet, in its meeting held on Wednesday, advised the President to dissolve the current Lok Sabha with immediate effect, it said. “The President has accepted the advice of the Cabinet on 05.06.2024 and signed the Order dissolving the 17th Lok Sabha in exercise of the powers conferred upon her by Sub-clause (b) of Clause (2) of Article 85 of the Constitution,” a communique issued by the Rashtrapati Bhawan read. The term of the current Lok Sabha was to end on June 16. Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi tendered his resignation to President Droupadi Murmu, who accepted it and asked him to continue till the new Government assumes office, a Rashtrapati Bhawan communique said.

 

According to the sources, as the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and the Janata Dal-United (JDU), the potential “kingmakers” have given the green signal, the formation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) Government and the swearing-in ceremony of PM Modi is likely to take place on June 8. Both parties are expected to submit formal letters of support to the BJP during a meeting of the alliance. “The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, met the President today and tendered his resignation along with the Council of Ministers. “The President has accepted the resignation and requested Shri Narendra Modi and the Council of Ministers to continue till the new Government assumes office,” the communique said. Earlier in the day, the Union Cabinet recommended the dissolution of the 17th Lok Sabha, according to sources. The term of the current 17th Lok Sabha ends on June 16. The ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) won a majority in the Lok Sabha elections on Tuesday. While the NDA is comfortably above the majority mark of 272 in the 543-member Lok Sabha, the BJP victory tally was much lower than its 2019 tally of 303 and the 282 seats it had won in 2014.

 

The Congress, on the other hand, registered a strong growth, winning 99 seats compared to 52 that it had won in 2019 and 44 seats in 2014. The I.N.D.I.A. bloc crossed the 230 mark, posing stiff competition, and defying all predictions from exit polls. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has secured a third term, but the BJP will need to rely on the support of other parties in his coalition - JD (U) chief Nitish Kumar and TDP’s chief Chandrababu Naidu. The BJP fell 32 seats short of the 272 majority mark after votes polled in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections were counted. For the first time, since the Bharatiya Janata Party swept to power in 2014, it did not secure a majority on its own. PM Modi calls on V-P Dhankhar: Soon after tendering his resignation to President Droupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called on Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar here on Wednesday. This was the first meeting of Prime Minister Modi after securing a third term in the just-concluded Lok Sabha election. Official sources said Dhankhar presented a bouquet to Modi that had three lotus flowers, signifying a third consecutive term, surrounded by lilies. During the meeting, the Prime Minister was also served “peda”, a delicacy from Chirawa in Rajasthan’s Jhunjhunu, the home district of Dhankhar, and jaggery from Meerut, a prominent agricultural produce from the region, the sources said.