Outlook's Next Issue: Return Of The Coalition

The coalition era is back. After BJP’s ‘400 paar’ dream failed to become a reality, the saffron party, securing only 240 seats, had to rely on their allies to cross the majority mark (272), ending the single-party rule that India had experienced over the past decade. Although the shift from Modi Sarkar to NDA Sarkar may seem minor, the change in power dynamics will be significant. 

The Telugu Desam Party's (TDP) Chandrababu Naidu with 16 seats and Janata Dal (United)’s Nitish Kumar with 12 have emerged as kingmakers, holding the reins to the current political landscape. Although the allies have helped form the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government at the Centre with 293 seats, some experts say the coalition government may be running on borrowed time. The Opposition, INDIA bloc, with 234 seats has promised to make a move when the time is right.

The 2024 Lok Sabha election has given way to a fresh crop of MPs from diverse backgrounds. From Nagina’s popular Dalit leader Chandrashekhar Azad to Lok Janshakti Party’s 25-year-old Shambhavi Choudhary, the sole Congress MP in Gujarat, Geniben Thakor, and millennial MP Priyanka Jarkiholi, the youngest to enter Parliament from Karnataka this year, are some of the new entrants to the Lok Sabha this term. 

Amid the political fervour gripping the country, a different set of results released on June 4—the NEET results—failed to get much airtime on that day. However, these results have raised a furore across the country as allegations of a scam have emerged. 

The recent terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir, including the attack on a bus carrying pilgrims in Reasi district in Jammu, have raised serious security concerns. 

Outlook’s next issue will delve into these developments and will also be the final issue of its Lok Sabha election coverage, wrapping up the extensive ground reports, expert analyses and opinions it has shared with readers during the election season.