By IANS,
New Delhi : A meeting of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) newly elected MPs will be held here Sunday to formally elect party veteran L.K. Advani as leader of the opposition on the eve of the first session of the 15th Lok Sabha.
BJP vice-president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi told IANS that besides naming Advani, 81, as the opposition leader, the party’s strategy for the parliament session would also be discussed at the meeting.
The session begins Monday with the swearing in of new MPs. The speaker will be elected June 3, and President Pratibha Patil will address a joint session of both houses June 4.
The BJP has 116 members in the new Lok Sabha.
Asked about the party’s candidate for the post of deputy speaker of the Lok Sabha which by tradition is allotted to the opposition, Naqvi said: “Nothing has been decided. No invitation has come so far (from the ruling party).”
When asked about rumours of party leader Sumitra Mahajan being considered for the post, He reiterated that no decision had been taken yet.
In the 14th Lok Sabha, the post was with Shiromani Akali Dal, the BJP’s partner in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). This time round the BJP is reportedly keen to keep it for itself.