Advani sits next to Modi, Rahul moves back

Veteran BJP leader L K Advani was seated in the front row next to Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the 16th Lok Sabha held its first sitting on Wednesday

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Though the seating arrangement in the Lok Sabha is yet to be finalised, there were clear indications that the seat next to the Prime Minister would be allocated to Advani, the seniormost member in the House.

On the other hand, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi, who had led his party’s election campaign, was seen seated on the backbenches along with Shashi Tharoor and Asrar-ul-Haq.

The Karnataka trio —Mallikarjun Kharge, M Veerappa Moily and K H Muniyappa — were seated in the front row allocated to the Opposition. Kharge, who was appointed leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha, sat on the third seat on the Opposition benches but moved to the second seat on being asked by Congress President Sonia Gandhi.

The first seat on the Opposition benches is reserved for the Deputy Speaker, while the second is for the Leader of the Opposition.

On the treasury benches, the front bench next to Modi and Advani was occupied by Murli Manohar Joshi, Ram Vilas Paswan, M Venkaiah Naidu, Sushma Swaraj and Rajnath Singh.
The competition for the front row seat was perhaps a reflection of the struggle for seniority within the BJP.

Those occupying front rows on the opposition side included Mulayam Singh Yadav, Sudip Bandyopadhyay (TMC), Arjun Charan Sethi (BJD) and M Thambidurai (AIADMK).

Normally, no seating arrangement is made in the Lok Sabha till the election of the Speaker. The seats are allocated to members after the election of the Speaker.