No-confidence motion: Will Modi do the unthinkable and stun Opposition?

There is a view that the PM could use his speech to paint the Opposition as a motley crowd of discredited leaders, and use the no-confidence motion debate to call for an early election

You might disagree with their politics, but you would agree that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Amit Shah have on several occasions in the past four years displayed a penchant for catching the Opposition by surprise.

The first day of the monsoon session was another such occasion. The Opposition was caught unawares when Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan not only accepted their notices to move no-confidence motion against the Modi government but also announced that it would be held as early as