First Session Of 17th Lok Sabha

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The Budget Session of India’s Parliament will begin from 17th of this month following the constitution of the 17th Lok Sabha after the Naendra Modi led NDA government swept to power for the second term in the general elections held last month with the slogan ‘Sab ka Saath-Sab ka Vikas-Sab ka Viswas’. During the hectic electioneering across the country braving the hot summer, the star campaigner Prime Minister Narendra Modi assured the people of many more welfare schemes.
The new House of People (Lok Sabha) is scheduled to elect its Speaker by 19th of June. The Pro-tem Speaker will conduct the proceedings of the House till the new Speaker is elected. President Ram Nath Kovind will address the joint sitting of both the Houses --Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha -on 20th of June after the completion of the ceremonial oath-taking by the elected members.
The Union Budget for 2019-20 will be presented in the Lok Sabha on 5th of July. Later, the House will take up discussion on the Motion of Thanks to the President for his address to both the Houses. The more than five-week long Budget session is scheduled to conclude on 26th of July. A key reason for Mr. Modi's win is his credibility among the poor. A raft of welfare schemes aimed at delivering cooking gas and power connections, besides health insurance, opening of bank accounts and income support for farmers helped in creating a large constituency that cut across all lines. The BJP projected Modi as a decisive leader with strong national security credentials, which was greatly magnified after Pulwama and Balakot. The number of women MPs in Parliament has also risen. BJP's win underlines the emergence of a newer, upwardly mobile constituency in rural and urban India.
There appears to be a trend for clear verdicts at the national level, which means coalitions are out of favour. This also suggests that the voters prefer a party and a leader with an unambiguous message and are wary of an unstable government hurting governance and economy. The role regional parties at the national level has shrunk, though they remain relevant in state elections. Out of the 542 seats contested in the 7-phase elections, Bharatiya Janata Party bagged 303, followed by Congress 52, Tamil Nadu based Dravida Munnethra Kazhagam (DMK) got 23 seats, Trinamool Congress and Yuvajana Sramika Rythu (YSR) Congress party 22 seats each. The BJP and its allies including Shiv Sena, Janata Dal (United), Lok Jan Shakti party and others formed the NDA government.
The 17th Lok Sabha has 267 new members. There are 46 First-Time women MPs among the record 78 women Members in the new Lok Sabha, which is a record. In his recent visit to Sri Lanka Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a public meeting that a large number of women voters exercised their franchise in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections in India, which is 14.6 per cent of the total strength of the Lower House. This is also the highest ever representation of women MPs in the House.
Chandrani Murmu, 25 of the Biju Janata Dal will be the youngest member of the new House. Ms. Murmu was elected from the Keonjhar (ST) constituency. She is closely followed by Tejasvi Surya, 28 (Bengaluru South) as the BJP's youngest MP in the 17th Lok Sabha. The Prime Minister stunned the political world by appointing S. Jaishankar, who was foreign secretary from January 2015 to January 2018, as Minister for External Affairs. His appointment opens the door for lateral entry at the highest level of government as well as the entry of technocrats in ministerial roles. Team Modi has signalled nod to newer approaches to governance.
In the Rajya Sabha, two members who were elected in the recent biennial elections to the Upper House, are expected to take oath on 20th June after the Joint Sitting of Parliament.
  
Script: V. Mohan Rao, Journalist.

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