Why Hema Malini, stepson Sunny Deol won't sit together in Parliament?

New Delhi, May 28: The newly constituted 17th Lok Sabha, which was elected during the recently concluded general elections, will have 300 first-time MPs compared to 314 in 2014, and 78 number of woman members who will shape the country's laws and policies over the next five years.

Apart from Sunny Deol, some of the famous faces among Parliament debutants include singer Hansraj Hans, cricketer Gautam Gambhir, Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur and actor Ravi Kishan. However, bollywood diva and Parliament veteran Hema Malini will not be there to support her stepson Sunny Deol, at least not during the sessions. But regardless of their popularity or seniority in their past trade, they will all be seated far behind the seasoned parliamentarians, as per the official seating system.

The last Lok Sabha, also known as the 16th Lok Sabha, had 314 MPs who were elected for the first time, according to think tank PRS Legislative Research

As they prepare to be sworn in as new members of the 17th Lok Sabha, here are how some of them will be seated in the Parliament:

Hema Malini, who has been elected to the Lok Sabha for the second time, will be seated in the middle benches, while her stepson Sunny Deol, who was elected from Gurdaspur seat, will be seated among the back benchers.

Even, Sadhavi Pragya will find herself seated far behind Anurag Thakur, who despite being much younger to her has been elected to Parliament for the fourth time.

How's the seating arrangement in Parliament:

The Lok Sabha chamber has a seating accommodation for 550 Members. The seats are divided into six blocks, each with eleven rows. Block No. 1 on the right-hand side of the Speaker's Chair and Block No. 6 on the left-hand side have 97 seats each. The remaining 4 blocks have 89 seats each.

In Lok Sabha, seat is allotted in the chamber to each Member, including Ministers who are Members of it. The seats on the right-hand side of the Speaker's Chair are occupied by the Members of the ruling party and those on the left-hand side by Members belonging to the Opposition Parties/Groups. The Deputy Speaker occupies the first front row seat on the left side.

Who decides the seating arrangement?

As per Rule 4 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha, The members shall sit in such order as determined by the speaker of the house. The speaker is guided by the direction 122(1)(a) of the 'Directions by the Speaker'. This direction clearly authorizes the speaker to allot seats in the house in proportion to the strength of the Party and the total number of seats available in the Chamber.