The four elected leaders of the House of Representatives have two weeks to resign from parliament.

With the results of the Indian Lok Sabha elections announced on Thursday, four newly elected members of the Lower House have less than two weeks to step down from their state seats.

What the rules say

As per the provisions of the Concurrent Membership Prohibition Rules, 1950, enacted in exercise of the powers conferred by Articles 101(2) and 190(2) of the Constitution of India, a member is required to resign from his/her seat within 14 days. Failure to do so, a person who is a member of both the Legislature and the National Assembly will lose his/her membership of the Lok Sabha.

Former Chief Minister and Janata Dal (S) leader HD Coomaraswamy is the state MP from Channapatna and was elected to the Lok Sabha from Mandya.

Another former chief minister and BJP leader Basavaraj Bommai (Shigaon MP) was elected to the Lok Sabha from Haveli.

Indian National Congress MP Sandur E. Tukaram was elected to the Indian Parliament from Ballari (ST) constituency while Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council Kota Srinivas Pujari won from the Udupi-Chikkamagaluru Lok Sabha constituency.

JD(S) sources said Kumaraswamy, who is likely to be inducted into the Union Cabinet which will be sworn in on Sunday, will return to Bengaluru after taking oath to complete the formalities.

Who will lead the opposition?

Meanwhile, the resignation of Janata Dal (S) Legislative Party chief Kumaraswamy has sparked speculation as to who will lead the party’s offensive in the Lok Sabha. Four-term MP and Janata Dal (S) Legislative Party core committee chairman GT Deve Gowda is likely to be named Janata Dal (S) LP leader.

“HD Revanna, the former chief minister’s brother and the party’s most senior member, is unlikely to be named due to the legal issues he is facing and the sexual abuse case allegedly involving his son Prajwal Revanna,” party sources claimed.

Besides Deve Gowda, four-time MP from Chikkanayakanahalli Suresh Babu, three-time MP from Thuluvakere MT Krishnappa and two-time MP from Shivamogga Rural Sharada Priyanaik are senior members of the party, which currently has 19 members.

A powerful combination

“The combination of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar is strong and the Congress has a good line-up of ministers. In contrast, the Opposition camp is weakened with two experienced former chief ministers set to resign from the Congress,” sources said.

Sources said while Deve Gowda could voice the opposition’s views, Bommai, who was in charge of the finance and water ministries, may be missed.

As things stand, several veteran BJP ministers have been defeated in the 2023 state assembly elections, which will make Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Assembly R Ashok’s task even tougher, sources said.