Consensus, Not Majority: Will The 18th Lok Sabha Be Any Different?

For the first time since 1976, the post of Lok Sabha speaker witnessed an intense election after the opposition made a U-turn from their initial decision of backing NDA’s Om Birla for the same. Although the NDA government had a lead in terms of numbers, the rare election is one of the first signs of a strong opposition taking on the Narendra Modi-led government that wouldn’t have reached majority mark in the recently concluded election without its allies.

The importance of ‘consensus’ was also highlighted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi when the first session of the newly constituted 18th Lok Sabha began on Monday. He underlined that a “majority” may be needed to run the government, but “consensus” is crucial to govern the country, while asserting that his government would strive to seek “everyone’s consent” and “take everyone along” in his third term.

Functioning of 17th Lok Sabha

The 17th Lok Sabha (formed by the members elected in the 2019 general election) held 274 sittings across five years, which is the fewest by a House that has completed a full-term, according to an analysis by the independent non-profit research group PRS Legislative Research. This is down from 66 annual average sitting days in the 16th Lok Sabha.

The analysis also found that at least 35 per cent of the bills introduced by the BJP-led Centre were passed with less than an hour of discussion in the Lok Sabha. Further, about 80 per cent of the Budget was voted on without discussion, between 2019 and 2023.

In another unprecedented move, 146 Opposition MPs were suspended, during the winter session of the parliament in December 2023, for serious misconduct in the House following which key bills, including three new criminal laws, were passed in Parliament, without much debate. This was the highest number of suspensions recorded so far.

Some controversial bills passed during the previous term of the government included the ban on triple talaq, amendments to the Citizenship Amendment Act, abrogation of Article 370 and the three contentious farm laws that were vociferously opposed by farmers. Apart from these, the 17th Lok Sabha also passed the historic women’s reservation bill that reserves one-third of all seats for women in Lok Sabha, State legislative assemblies, and the Legislative Assembly of the National Capital Territory of Delhi, including those reserved for SCs and STs.

Expectations from the 18th Lok Sabha

Unlike the 16th and 17th Lok Sabhas, the 18th one has a recognised Leader of Opposition (LoP) – Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. There was no leader of opposition in the previous Lok Sabha because no opposition party had won enough seats to stake claim to the post. The grand old party won 99 seats in the recently concluded election and is the largest party within the INDIA bloc.

Signs of opposition unity could be seen on the first day of the session, with INDIA bloc MPs taking oath in the name of constitution, holding the little red book in their hands and protesting outside the House at the spot where the statue of Mahatma Gandhi used to be.

With a resurgent opposition, it is also expected that bills and legislations will witness thorough debates and deliberations before being passed, unlike in previous terms when BJP’s members occupied a significant portion of the House.

In terms of proceedings of the first session of the 18th Lok Sabha, the opposition camp is expected to raise the issue of NEET-NET paper leaks, the recent Kanchanjunga train accident in Bengal, the implementation of the new criminal laws and the controversy over sudden surge in share prices after the exit polls and their meltdown on election results day.

Civil society also pointed out the rise in attacks against Muslims, days after polls ended. However, neither the ruling government nor the opposition has paid much heed to these incidents of violence so far. It remains to be seen whether the opposition will raise the issue in the House.