NEW DELHI: A day after the Lok Sabha poll results were announced, the Union cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday recommended the dissolution of the 17th Lok Sabha, whose term ends on June 16. 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. As per the results of the Lok Sabha elections, the Election Commission of India has declared results for 542 of the 543 Lok Sabha constituencies, with the BJP winning 240 seats and the Congress 99. 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 INDIA 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. Meanwhile, the NDA leaders are scheduled to meet later today, at Prime Minister Modi’s residence. The opposition INDIA bloc will also meet today with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge calling alliance leaders for the meet at his house. Having witnessed a favourable outcome in the LS polls, the leaders of the INDIA bloc will strategize their next move. Earlier on Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi thanked the people for the mandate and said BJP-led NDA will form its third successive government and that it is the victory of the resolve of Viksit Bharat, of ‘Sabka Sath Sabka Vikas’ and of the strong faith of people in India’s Constitution. “On this sacred day, it is confirmed that NDA is forming the government for the third time. We are grateful to the people, they reposed full faith in the BJP, and NDA. This is the victory of the world’s largest democracy, it is a victory of strong faith in India’s Constitution, it is the victory of the resolve of Viksit Bharat. It is the victory of ‘Sabka Sath Sabka Vikas’,” he said in his address at the BJP headquarters on Tuesday.
