NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday chaired the last meeting of the outgoing Union cabinet which recommended dissolution of the 17th Lok Sabha, setting in motion the process of formation of the next government after the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) won a narrow majority in the Lok Sabha.
M Modi drove down to Rashtrapati Bhavan to call on President Droupadi Murmu soon after.
“The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, met the President today and tendered his resignation along with the Council of Ministers. The President has accepted the resignation and requested Shri Narendra Modi and the Council of Ministers to continue till the new Government assumes office,” a Rashtrapati Bhavan communique said.
People familiar with the matter said the cabinet meeting to recommend dissolution of the Lok Sabha was held at the prime minister’s residence at about 11:30am.
The term of the current 17th Lok Sabha ends on June 16.
At 293 seats, the NDA is comfortably above the majority mark of 272 in the 543-member Lok Sabha. The BJP, which secured 240 seats, had fallen short of the halfway mark for the first time since 2014, and is dependent on its allies for government formation.