Lok Sabha Elections 2024: With support of 3 Independent MPs, I.N.D.I.A now has 237 seats

New Delhi: The Opposition I.N.D.I.A bloc’s bench strength rose to 237 on Tuesday after Ladakh independent MP Mohmad Haneefa pledged support to the Congress after a meeting with party chief Mallikarjun Kharge and top leader Rahul Gandhi.

Earlier, two independent MPs Vishal Patil and Pappu Yadav had announced their support to the Congress. On its own, 20 I.N.D.I.A parties had won 234 seats while the NDA garnered 293 seats in the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections.

Haneefa had contested against Congress and BJP candidates in Ladakh in protest against the I.N.D.I.A. bloc choosing Tsering Namgyal as its candidate. He defeated Namgyal of Congress by a margin of 27,862 votes while BJP’s Tashi Gyalson came third.

Separately, Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha MP Saket Gokhale posted on X, "as of today, the numbers in the Lok Sabha are BJP: 240, I.N.D.I.A.: 237. Three BJP MPs in West Bengal are in touch with us and there will be a nice surprise soon. After that, BJP: 237, I.N.D.I.A.: 240. Modi’s creaky coalition is a temporary structure which isn’t going to last very long."

While Patil had announced his support last week, Yadav met the Congress leadership on Monday. Four more independent MPs – Engineer Rashid, Amritpal Singh, Sarabjeet Khalsa and Umeshbhai Patel have not announced their stand on supporting any alliance.

Four MPs of YSR Congress and one each of VOTTP, ZPM, Akali Dal, ASP (Kanshi Ram) and AIMIM have also not joined any grouping. Among them, ASP (Kanshi Ram) and AIMIM are likely to oppose the NDA though they may not join the I.N.D.I.A bloc.

Mr Mohmad Haneefa, Independent MP from Ladakh along with local leaders met Rahul Gandhi in Delhi on June 11.

Last week, Patil, a Congress rebel who won as an independent in the just concluded Lok Sabha elections from Maharashtra, announced support for Congress and I.N.D.I.A bloc. The grandson of former Maharashtra chief minister Vasantdada Patil, he contested as an independent candidate after Sangli was allotted to the Shiv Sena (UBT) in the seat-sharing arrangements in Maharashtra.

Yadav entered the fray from Bihar's Purnia, where he defeated JD(U)'s Santosh Kumar and pushed RJD's Bima Bharti to third position, after the Congress failed to convince ally RJD to leave the seat for him.

The three independent MPs will not be officially joining Congress as they would be disqualified if they do so.

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Lok Sabha Elections 2024 | Narendra Modi's '400-paar' hopes faced stiff competition from Rahul Gandhi's I.N.D.I.A. in an election whose result came as a surprise. Track the latest coverage, live news, in-depth opinions, and analyses only on Deccan Herald.

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