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Rahul Gandhi, 54, defied analysts’ expectations and helped the Congress party nearly double its seat count in parliament, its best performance since Modi came to power a decade ago.
Gandhi was the scion of a dynasty that dominated Indian politics for decades and the son, grandson and great-grandson of successive prime ministers starting with independence leader Jawaharlal Nehru.
Parliamentary rules require the leader of the opposition to be from a party that holds at least 10 percent of the 543 seats in the House of Representatives.
The post has been vacant for 10 years as the Congress, once India’s dominant party, failed to meet that threshold after two dismal election results.
Members elected from prison
Newly elected lawmakers will be sworn in during the first two days.
Many are watching to see whether the two MPs elected from jail, Modi’s sworn enemies, will be allowed in.
One of them is Sikh separatist Amritpal Singh, a radical preacher who was arrested last year in Punjab after a month-long police manhunt.
The other is Sheikh Abdul Rashid, a former member of parliament from the Indian-controlled state of Kashmir.
It is unclear whether the two will be released on bail and attend the ceremony in person.
During his decade as prime minister, Modi has established himself as a vigorous defender of Hinduism, which has worried minorities such as India’s more than 200 million Muslim community.
But in this year’s election, his People’s Party won just 240 seats, 32 short of a majority in the House of Representatives – its worst performance in a decade.
This has forced the BJP to rely on various small parties to govern.
Modi This government is keeping key positions unchanged The cabinet is still dominated by the BJP.
These include BJP loyalists Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari, Nirmala Sitharaman and S Jaishankar, who served as defence, home, transport, finance and external affairs ministers respectively and continue to remain in their posts.
But out of its 71 government members, 11 posts were taken by coalition allies who received them in exchange for their support, including five of the top 30 cabinet posts.
Many will also be watching the election for the speaker, a powerful position that oversees the operation of the House, which lawmakers are due to vote on Wednesday.
Alliance allies covet the post, but others believe Modi will nominate a candidate from the BJP.
India’s new Parliament House is a magnificent hexagonal parliament building that was completed last year. This is the first time that Indian MPs have been sworn in at the new Parliament House.
Modi sees the building as the centerpiece of a transformation of central New Delhi aimed at freeing the Indian capital from the vestiges of British colonial rule.
The opposition boycotted the opening ceremony.
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