NEW DELHI, June 24, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - Indian lawmakers begin taking their

oaths Monday as parliament opens after an election setback forced Prime
Minister Narendra Modi into a coalition government for the first time in a
decade.

Expected in the first session, which will run until July 3, is a preview of
Modi's plans for his third term and the likely formal appointment of Rahul
Gandhi as leader of the opposition -- a post vacant since 2014.

Modi's first two terms in office followed landslide wins for his right-wing
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), allowing his government to drive laws through
parliament with only cursory debate.

But now analysts expect the 73-year-old Modi to moderate his Hindu-
nationalist agenda to assuage his coalition partners, focusing more on
infrastructure, social welfare and economic reforms.

Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Kiren Rijiju on Monday called for a
"peaceful and productive" session, but Indian media said they expected lively
debate with a far stronger opposition.

"All set to spar", one headline in the Hindustan Times read Monday.

"Resurgent opposition set to push government", the Indian Express front page
added.

Rahul Gandhi, 54, defied analyst expectations to help his Congress party
nearly double its parliamentary numbers, its best result since Modi was swept
to power a decade ago.

Gandhi is the scion of a dynasty that dominated Indian politics for decades
and is the son, grandson and great-grandson of former prime ministers,
beginning with independence leader Jawaharlal Nehru.

Parliamentary regulations require the opposition leader to come from a party
that commands at least 10 percent of the lawmakers in the 543-seat lower
house.

The post has been vacant for 10 years because two dismal election results for
Congress -- once India's dominant party -- left it short of that threshold.

- Lawmakers elected behind bars -

The parliamentary session will start with newly-elected lawmakers taking
their oaths over the first two days.

Many will be watching if two lawmakers elected from behind bars, bitter
opponents of Modi, will be allowed to join.

One is Sikh separatist Amritpal Singh, a firebrand preacher arrested last
year after a month-long police manhunt in Punjab state.

The second is Sheikh Abdul Rashid, a former state legislator in Indian-
administered Kashmir.

It is unclear if either will be granted bail to attend the ceremony in
person.

Modi's decade as premier has seen him cultivate an image as an aggressive
champion of the country's majority Hindu faith.

But his BJP won only 240 seats in this year's poll, 32 short of a majority in
the lower house -- its worst showing in a decade.

It has left the BJP reliant on a motley assortment of minor parties to
govern.

Modi has kept key posts unchanged in this government and the cabinet remains
dominated by the BJP.

That includes BJP loyalists Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari, Nirmala
Sitharaman and S. Jaishankar -- the defence, interior, transport, finance and
foreign ministers, respectively, staying on in their jobs.

But out of his 71-member government, 11 posts went to coalition allies who
extracted them in exchange for their support -- including five in the top 30
cabinet posts.

Many will also be eying the election of the speaker, a powerful post
overseeing the running of the lower house, with lawmakers slated to vote on
Wednesday.

Coalition allies covet the post, but others suggest Modi will put forward a
candidate from his BJP.