No-Confidence Motion: Numbers Game In Lok Sabha Explained

Updated: Wednesday, July 26, 2023, 17:09 [IST]

Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi moved a no-confidence motion against the Narendra Modi government in the Lok Sabha, which was accepted by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla. The motion was brought forth by the alliance of 26 opposition parties, INDIA, with the primary objective of compelling Prime Minister Narendra Modi to address the issue of Manipur violence during a parliamentary session. The state of Manipur has been facing ethnic violence since May 3, including a distressing incident where two women were paraded naked, garnering criticism from all corners.

For the motion to proceed, it requires support from at least 50 members of the House. The effective seats in Lok Sabha amount to 537, with only 6 vacant seats, and the Narendra Modi government enjoys a substantial majority with a total seat share of 331, which includes BJP's largest share of 301 seats.

No-Confidence Motion: Numbers Game In Lok Sabha Explained

The following is the breakdown of the seat share for the government:

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP): 301
Shiv Sena (Shinde): 13
Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party (RLJP): 05
Apna Dal Soneylal (ADS): 02
Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas): 01
Nationalist Congress Party (Ajit Pawar): 01
All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU): 01
Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP): 01
Naga People's Front (NPF): 01
National People's Party (NPP): 01
Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM): 01
Mizo National Front (MNF): 01
Independents (Sumalatha and Navneet Kaur Rana): 02

The Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP), led by Jagan Mohan Reddy, which is not part of the NDA, has decided to support the Modi government on the No-Confidence Motion with its 22 members in the Lok Sabha.

On the other hand, the newly-formed opposition 'INDIA' bloc holds a strength of 142 seats, with the Indian National Congress (INC) having the largest share of 50 seats.

The seat distribution for the opposition is as follows:

Indian National Congress (INC): 50
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK): 24
Trinamool Congress (TMC): 23
Janata Dal-United (JDU): 16
Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray): 06
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP-Sharad Pawar): 04
Samajwadi Party (SP): 03
Indian Union Muslim League (IUML): 03
Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (JKNC): 03
Communist Party of India (Marxist): 03
Communist Party of India (CPI): 02
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP): 01
Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM): 01
Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP): 01
Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK): 01
Kerala Congress (Mani): 01

The Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), led by KCR, which is not part of the INDIA bloc, has decided to support the opposition on the No-Confidence Motion, having 9 members in the Lok Sabha.

Among the prominent fence sitters are parties like Biju Janata Dal (BJD) of Naveen Patnaik, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) of Mayawati, and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) of Chandrababu Naidu, who have not yet declared their stance on the No-Confidence Motion.