President Murmu hosts dinner for outgoing Union Council of Ministers
Jun 05, 2024
New Delhi [India], June 5 : President Droupadi Murmu hosted a farewell dinner for the outgoing Council of Ministers, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Wednesday.
Prime Minister Modi, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, his wife Sudesh Dhankhar, and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla were pictured at the dinner in Delhi. 
The dinner was attended by Union Ministers including Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Tourism Minister G Kishan Reddy, and Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, among others. 
A post by the President of India on X shared pictures from the function, with a caption that read, "President Droupadi Murmu hosted a dinner for the outgoing Union Council of Ministers, led by Prime Minister at Rashtrapati Bhavan."
https://x.com/rashtrapatibhvn/status/1798385360243974261
President Murmu, earlier in the day, dissolved the 17th Lok Sabha on the recommendation of the Union Cabinet.
PM Modi, along with his Council of Ministers, tendered resignation to the President. The Cabinet will continue in office until the new government takes charge.
According to sources, PM Modi will be sworn in for the third consecutive time on June 8.
As per the results announced by the Election Commission of India on Tuesday, the BJP won 240 seats and the Congress 99 seats. BJP had won 303 seats in the 2019 general elections and 282 seats in the 2014 general elections. This time, the BJP fell 32 seats short of the majority mark of 272 and will need to rely on its allies to form a government.
On the other hand, the Congress registered a significant growth from 52 seats in 2019 to 99 seats this time. The Congress-led opposition coalition, the INDIA bloc, crossed 230 seats, defying all predictions.
