After a decade, Opposition in Lok Sabha in numbers, and a voice

“The winner comes second.”

This was Lal Krishna Advani after the 1989 Lok Sabha elections when the BJP, under his watch, jumped from 2 to 85 seats in the House — the start of its rise to power.

And on Monday, the first day of the 18th Lok Sabha, Opposition MPs appeared to have borrowed Advani’s line to their advantage – jubilant and vibrant outside the House, more confident and emboldened inside. After a decade, from just two rows of seats, they were now occupying more than a third of the House benches.

The BJP, which left the new Parliament building in February in an upbeat mood chanting ‘Jai Shri Ram’ and ‘Ab ki baar 400 paar’, was somewhat subdued barring one round of ‘Modi Modi’ when Narendra Modi, elected Prime Minister for a third successive term, rose to take oath as MP.

On the other side of the Well, Akhilesh Yadav, leader of the SP whose tally climbed from five to 37, made Awadhesh Prasad, the 79-year-old who won the Faizabad seat (Ayodhya), sit in the first row with himself and Rahul Gandhi.

With the BJP no longer in majority in the House, the Lower House reverbated to the sounds of a confident Opposition. The Congress, DMK and TMC MPs held a protest outside the House, holding red-cover copies of the Constitution and standing at the spot where the statue of Mahatma Gandhi used to be. They then marched to the House to take oath. A few minutes later, Akhilesh Yadav led his party men, all wearing red stoles and holding copies of the Constitution, to the floor of the House.

The mood inside was probably an indication of what could be expected in the House, at least for a few sessions.Members of the Opposition waved copies of the Constitution when Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah were called to take oath. They were heard