No seat 420, pillar obstruction, what you didn't know about Lok Sabha's seating

Members who sit behind the pillar from Lok Sabha become big people. That's what Parliamentary Affairs minister Arjun Ram Meghwal told a BJP member in 2019. That's because Anil Ferozia, a BJP member, raised the issue of sitting behind a pillar and hence not getting noticed. But how is it decided who will sit where? You've probably seen this till now. We were frequented with Rahul Gandhi taking the front row benches. But the new Lok Sabha witnessed some new frontbenchers. Rahul Gandhi, Akhilesh Yadav along with Samajwadi Party MP Avidesh Prasad, who won the prized Faizabad seat where Ayodhya Ram Mandir is located with 543 members. This is how the new Lok Sabha looks like under direction 122 A. The Speaker has the ultimate authority and allots a seat to every MP and unlike school, everyone wants the front benches. Here, there are 20 front seats in the first row. Out of them, four are earmarked for the Leader of the House, the Prime Minister, the Deputy Chairman and the Leader of the Opposition. The first seat in the front row to the right of the chair is always earmarked for the Prime Minister, whether he's a member of the House, Oregon not. The remaining 16 seats are divided among different recognized parties in proportion to the numerical strength. The present Lok Sabha is divided into 8 blocks on the right, left and the front of the Speaker seat. There are 11 rows in each block for the MPs to occupy. So how is the allotment done for the party members? For parties having a strength of five or more members in the House, this formula is used. Seats of the party multiplied by the seats available in that row divided by the total number of seats in the chamber. So, for instance, for the first row that has 20 seats, BJP has 240 members into 20 seats divided by 888, which comes down to 5.4 seats in the first stroke. For the BJP members. Recognized parties and groups are allotted blocks of seats in proportion to the respective strength and the total number of seats available in the House. Parties and groups in the Opposition are allotted blocks of seats proportionate to the strength starting from the left of the Chair. So in this Lok Sabha we will see the Congress, RJD and its alliances occupying these many seats. Independence, Oregon Members of smaller parties or groups are allotted seats by the Speaker in accordance with the standing in Parliament and prominence in public life. This is why the last Lok Sabha we saw Mulayam Singh Yadav or HD Deve Gowda in the front rows even if they didn't have the required numbers. In the last Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi was allotted seat #466 in the 2nd row and the front row of the main opposition benches were occupied by Mulayam on 455, TR Balu on 456, Sonia Gandhi on 457 and Nadhiranjan Chaudhary on 458. Fun fact, in the old Lok Sabha, parliamentarians avoided seat 420, the number of the infamous section of the Indian Penal Code. This was a problem that came up multiple times in the 14th Lok Sabha when an MP shirked at seat 420. After requests from parliamentarians, the seat number was actually changed to 419A. But now, with the new criminal bills coming our way and a new Parliament, this might be a thing of the past. Members who sit behind the pillar from Lok Sabha become big people. That's what Parliamentary Affairs Minister Arjun Ram Meghal told a BJP member in 2019. That's because Anil Ferojia, a BJP member, raised the issue of sitting behind a pillar and hence not getting noticed. With more than 10 pillars in the old Lok Sabha, this issue was very frequent. I mean, who wants to sit behind the pillar? But again, with the new Parliament, we might finally see pillar free seating. These seats in the Parliament for the MPs mean much more. 52% MPs are first time parliamentarians, this time elected by you. Once these parliamentarians earn a seat in the parliament, they receive several benefits, count to bungalow a salary of 1,00,000 along with the daily allowance of Rupees 2000, allowances for travel, medical facilities, free travel in first class, railway coaches and so much more. For more informative videos like this, keep watching India Today News Mode.