With their roles reversed, it was a subdued Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies returning to the opposition benches as the 14th Lok Sabha got to a sedate start on Wednesday, which saw Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh hogging the limelight.

Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who had for long spearheaded the opposition onslaught as its leader, took a seat on the front row near the bench occupied by Leader of the Opposition and his long-time colleague Lal Kishenchand Advani.

The BJP ranks with a large number of new faces and the absence of many a stalwart, including a number of ministers in the previous National Democratic Alliance government, were apparently still to reconcile with the shock defeat in the election.

Old warhorses were again back in familiar territory in treasury benches. They included Pranab Mukherjee, Leader of the House, Sharad Pawar, Arjun Singh, Shivraj Patil, P Chidambaram, Ghulam Nabi Azad and P M Sayeed.

As if to show their clout in the new dispensation, Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Laloo Prasad Yadav, Nationalist Congress Party leader Sharad Pawar and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader T R Baalu, all Union Ministers, positioned themselves in the front row close to Gandhi, whose son Rahul was in the third row
behind her.

For long time used to being in the opposition benches, Rashtriya Janata Dal leader and Union Minister Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, who never shied away from frontal assaults on government on various issues, entered the House from the opposition side much to the merriment of treasury benches.     

This prompted Laloo Prasad to ask Singh how he had lost his way into the opposition benches. Quickly realising his gaffe, the RJD leader was seen greeting opposition leaders while moving to the treasury benches.

Gandhi, clad in a maroon sari and who took her affirmation in Hindi to loud applause, was the cynosure of all eyes. Member after member from Congress and its allies, including Union ministers, made it a point to greet her.

Interestingly, Laxman Singh, brother of former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Digvijay Singh, occupied almost the same row as earlier. Laxman had quit Congress and joined BJP just before the election.

TRS leader and Union Minister A Narendra, who was a BJP member in the last Lok Sabha, this time continued to occupy the treasury benches, having joined the TRS, spearheading the cause for a separate Telangana, ahead of polls.

Former defence minister and National Democratic Alliance convenor George Fernandes chose to sit on the last row in the opposition side.

Film personalities, cutting across party lines, were seen huddled together. Dharmendra, who won on BJP ticket from Bikaner in Rajasthan, and Jayaprada on SP ticket from Rampur in Uttar Pradesh were exchanging notes in middle rows with Vinod Khanna of BJP.

Union Minister Sunil Dutt, who won from Mumbai, took oath amid cheers from his Congress colleagues.     

Besides Rahul Gandhi, in a spotless white kurta pyjama, the generation next of the Congress -- Sachin Pilot, Navin Jindal, Milind Deora, Jitin Prasad -- were seated together in one of the backrows.

Sachin sported a Rajasthani traditional headgear often worn by his father Rajesh Pilot who died in an accident a few years ago.

Jyortiraditya Scindia, a second-time MP and son of late Madhavrao Scindia, was seen confabulating with senior MP Suresh Kalmadi.

The place held by Mulayam Singh Yadav as leader of Samajwadi Party in the Lok Sabha before he became the Chief Minister has now been entrusted to his brother Ram Gopal Yadav.

Pro tem Speaker Somnath Chatterjee announced that Mulayam Singh Yadav, who had won from Mainpuri, has resigned and his resignation has been accepted.

Home Minister Shivraj Patil, who lost from his pocketborough Latur in Maharashtra, had a pleasant surprise
when victorious Rupa Patil Nilangekar of BJP touched his feet shortly before the House assembled.

The Home Minister was seen introducing Rupa to Gandhi.

What created much mirth and amusement in the House was a colourful cap with feather worn by Union Minister M A A Fatimi of the RJD. The House saw several members wearing different headgear while those from the TRS donning pink angavastram and from TDP yellow ones.

Even Gandhi was seen enquiring from Laloo Prasad about the cap worn by Fatimi.

Akali Dal members trooped together in the House donning blue and yellow turbans. Manvendra Singh, son of former finance minister Jaswant Singh, sported a colourful turban.

Union ministers from Tamil Nadu including P Chidambaram, Mani Shankar Aiyar, Dayanidhi Maran and Baalu took their oath in Tamil while P R Dasmunsi did so in Bengali, Shibu Soren in Santhali, Manikrao Gavit in Marathi and E Ahmed in Malyalam.

Raghunath Jha, a recent entry to the RJD from NDA ally Samata, complained there was no facility to take oath in Bhojpuri and demanded the language should be included in the Eighth Schedule as was done for Maithili.

Vajpayee left the House after witnessing proceedings for 35 minutes while Gandhi as also the prime minister and Advani stayed on about an hour in the morning session.

External Affairs Minister K Natwar Singh, a Rajya Sabha member, chose to witness the proceedings for a while from the gallery meant for members of the Upper House.     

There was a round of applause from treasury benches when RJD member Vijay Krishan, who defeated former Railway Minister Nitish Kumar in Barh, took oath. Kumar, who was elected from Nalanda, took oath later.

S K Bwiswmuthiary of Bodoland was at his colourful best as he took oath in Bodo language.

Director General of National Security Guard (NSG) Nikhil Kumar, who won on a Congress ticket, also took oath.

His wife Shyama Singh was a member of the previous House.