Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar may allot seats to individual members after waiting in vain for all parties to do the micro job themselves after the allocation of blocks to them.

According to sources, parties are holding up the process for different reasons. While some parties are unable to work out their internal formulae for the complex exercise, a few of them are not happy with the proposed broad seating arrangement. There being just 20 seats, the prime slots obviously fall short of the people eying them. The AIADMK (with nine members), for example, has sought a front seat for its floor leader, M Thambidurai. The BJD (14) is also disappointed over the fact that its leader Arjun Charan Sethi has not been seated in the front row.

Though Lok Sabha rules allow complete discretion to the Speaker on the matter — “The members shall sit in such an order as the Speaker may determine” — the chair has by convention followed a very democratic method.

Successive Speakers have just given blocks to parties and left it to them to distribute seats according to their own internal hierarchy. The presiding officers have strictly taken into account the strength of a party for setting the order of precedence, exceptions have been made in the case of former prime ministers.

Chandra Shekhar and H D Deve Gowda had occupied front seats notwithstanding the strength of their parties. It is another matter that Deve Gowda is not getting the same benefit this time round.

... contd.