Who sits where in the Lok Sabha

New Delhi: The Lok Sabha sports an entirely different colour this time, with BJP and its allies occupying three-and-a-half blocks in the House. UPA, with a strength of 59, will be squeezed to less than a single block. And for the first time in two decades, the Left parties will be missing from the front row.

Congress, which is entitled to two front row seats in the Lok Sabha in keeping with its strength in the House, is likely to be allotted an extra seat. Mulayam Singh Yadav, whose Samajwadi Party was reduced to just five seats in the Lok Sabha, is unlikely to be accommodated in the front row after years as a front-bencher. 

Sources said the ruling BJP might oblige Janata Dal (Secular) leader H D Deve Gowda as he is a former Prime Minister.

The seating arrangement in the 16th Lok Sabha is likely to be finalised on Saturday in a meeting that has been convened by Speaker Sumitra Mahajan. Front row seats are seen as a status symbol among Parliamentarians. BJP, as the main opposition party had five front row seats in the previous Lok Sabha, but then its strength at 114 MPs was substantially more than the Congress’ 44, its lowest ever tally, this time. 

Congress has reportedly petitioned the Speaker to give it four seats in the front row. Sources said they are unlikely to get two more and as the second largest party in the House might have to settle for three seats, if the government agrees to be generous. 

Congress president Sonia Gandhi and the party’s leader in the Lok Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, will occupy two of these three front row seats. Former union minister Kamal Nath, who also the most senior member of the House, may be asked to take the third.

The front row in the semi-circular hall can accommodate 20 members, including the Deputy Speaker. BJP-led NDA, which has a strength of 334 in the Lok Sabha, is entitled to 12 seats. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will occupy the corner-most seat to the right of the Speaker. BJP president Rajnath Singh will sit next to him. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will occupy the seat next to Singh. 

The pecking order of the other ministers is expected to follow the line-up in which they took oath in the forecourt of the Rashtrapati Bhawan on May 26. Party veteran L K Advani, too, will find space in the front row, sources said.

AIADMK and Trinamool Congress are likely to be given two seats each in the front row – J Jayalalithaa’s party won 37 seats, and Mamata Banerjee’s Trinammol had won 34. Naveen Patnaik’s Biju Janata Dal (BJD) is likely to have one representative in the front row. It has 20 members.