NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government will face a no-confidence vote on Friday as the opposition uses the new monsoon session of India’s parliament to challenge his administration ahead of general elections early next year.
With a majority in India’s 543-seat lower house of parliament, Modi’s coalition is expected to defeat the no-confidence vote. But the opposition, including the Congress party led by Rahul Gandhi, will use the debate to pressure Modi on issues including women’s safety, mob lynchings and the restive state of Jammu and Kashmir. Since December, Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has faced numerous challenges, after a relatively smooth first couple of years in office.
He narrowly won his home state of Gujarat in December with a wafer-thin majority, lost crucial by-elections in some states and failed to form the government after winning the most seats in Karnataka’s state election in May.