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President Ram Nath Kovind Accepts PM Modi’s Resignation, Paves Way For 17th Lok Sabha

President Ram Nath Kovind has asked Narendra Modi to continue as prime minister till the 17th Lok Sabha is formed on June 3.

President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. (Photo: PTI)
President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. (Photo: PTI)

President Ram Nath Kovind on Friday accepted the resignation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and asked him to continue till a new government assumes office, a communique from the Rashtrapati Bhavan said. The 17th Lok Sabha has to assume office by June 3.

"The president has accepted the resignation and requested Modi and the council of ministers to continue till the new government assumes office," the communique said.

Officials said the Union Cabinet, in its meeting on Friday evening, adopted a resolution recommending the dissolution of the 16th Lok Sabha, which will pave way for formal launch of the process to form a new government.

As the Bharatiya Janata Party swept to power with a spectacular performance in 2019 Lok Sabha elections for a second term, all eyes are now on government formation, amid speculation that several new faces—including BJP president Amit Shah—may be brought into the new Narendra Modi cabinet.

With Smriti Irani handing a shock defeat to Congress president Rahul Gandhi in Amethi, it is expected that the party may reward her with an important responsibility.

A number of senior leaders from the outgoing cabinet, including Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Piyush Goyal, Narendra Singh Tomar and Prakash Javadekar, are set to figure in the new cabinet.

Among allies, the Shiv Sena and the Janata Dal (United) are likely to be given cabinet berths as both the parties have done exceedingly well, winning 18 and 16 seats in Maharashtra and Bihar, respectively. The BJP will reward new faces from West Bengal, Odisha and Telangana, states where it has made significant inroads.

The Modi-led BJP won 302 seats and was leading in another seat in the elections for 542 Lok Sabha constituencies, election results showed.