Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday met President Droupadi Murmu and tendered his resignation along with the Council of Ministers. The President has accepted the resignation and requested Narendra Modi and the Council of Ministers to continue till the new Government assumes office.
Meanwhile, Modi is likely to take oath for a third consecutive term on Saturday, June 8. This is the first time since Jawaharlal Nehru that a prime minister will be returning to power for a third consecutive term. The swearing-in ceremony of the Union Cabinet is also likely to take place the same day.
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.
The recommendation for the dissolution of the 17th Lok Sabha will pave the way for the constitution of the 18th Lok Sabha and the formation of a new government.
In this final meeting of Modi 2.0’s cabinet, several Union Ministers, including Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh, participated. The meeting was held at PM Modi’s residence at 7 Lok Kalyan Marg in the national capital.
A day after the results for the Lok Sabha elections were announced, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance and the Opposition’s INDIA bloc are both going into a huddle today in New Delhi to chalk out their future course of action.
Contrary to exit polls that predicted a landslide for the ruling alliance, the NDA ended their run at 293, with the BJP managing to get only 240 seats this time. The Opposition’s INDIA bloc stood at 232, with the Congress doubling its 2019 tally and grabbing 99 seats.
The biggest upset for the BJP was in Uttar Pradesh where it had won 62 seats in 2019 and 71 seats in 2014. The BJP’s numbers almost halved as it won just 33 seats. The BJP also faced setbacks in several states where the party dominated in 2019. Among them were Maharashtra, Haryana, Rajasthan and Karnataka. The party took a hit in West Bengal as well.