The seating arrangements for the 18th Lok Sabha have been finalised, with notable adjustments in the allocation of seats for key political figures. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will continue to occupy Seat No. 1 in the front row, while Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has been assigned a seat in the fourth row, Seat No. 517.
Modi’s closest allies will also hold prominent positions in the front row. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will sit next to the Prime Minister at Seat No. 2. At the same time, Home Minister Amit Shah will be seated at Seat No. 3. In a recent reshuffle, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, who was initially assigned Seat No. 58, has been moved to Seat No. 4, located next to Amit Shah.
This move was part of an updated seating list released on Monday.
The final seating chart also leaves some important positions vacant. Seats No. 4 and 5, previously unallocated, have now been designated as part of the final arrangement. Several senior Cabinet ministers, including Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, and Health Minister JP Nadda, do not have fixed seats due to their roles, which often require them to work outside the usual seating arrangements.
On the opposition side, key leaders are seated in the front row as well. Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, who is also the Congress party’s figurehead, will sit at Seat No. 498, while Samajwadi Party (SP) Chief Akhilesh Yadav will take his place at Seat No. 355. Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Sudip Bandopadhyay will sit next to Yadav in Seat No. 354. Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal has been allotted Seat No. 497, next to Rahul Gandhi.
In a further reshuffle, SP MP Awadhesh Prasad, who was highlighted by Akhilesh Yadav for his win from Faizabad, has been moved to the second row and will now occupy Seat No. 357. Dimple Yadav, his colleague, will sit next to him at Seat No. 358. This update places both SP and TMC leaders in the front row alongside each other.
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, representing Wayanad in the 18th Lok Sabha after winning a recent by-election, will be seated in the fourth row. Her seat allocation at Seat No. 517 places her next to Congress MPs Adoor Prakash of Kerala and Pradyut Bordoloi of Assam, both of whom are in their second term.
The seating arrangements also reveal that senior leaders from the DMK, such as T R Baalu and A Raja, have been allocated seats in the front row, ensuring prominent representation for the opposition.
Additionally, the updated seating list notes that division numbers are synonymous with seat numbers. These division numbers are typically used during votes when the electronic voting system is in operation.
One vacancy is noted in the House, following the unfortunate passing of TMC MP S K Nurul Islam from Basirhat, West Bengal. This will leave a temporary gap in the representation of that region.
