In a move ending days of speculation, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has decided to re-nominate Om Birla for the Lok Sabha Speaker’s post. Om Birla, who served as the Speaker in the previous Lok Sabha, filed his nomination at 11.30 am, sources confirmed.
For the first time, the Lok Sabha Speaker’s election will be contested, with the opposition INDIA bloc fielding K Suresh against Birla. Traditionally, the Speaker has been elected by consensus; however, this time it will be determined by a simple majority of MPs voting.
The BJP, which has enjoyed unchallenged nominations of Sumitra Mahajan and Om Birla to the Speaker’s post in previous terms due to its overwhelming majorities post the 2014 and 2019 elections, now faces a different scenario. Despite being the single-largest party in Parliament with 240 seats, it falls 32 seats short of a majority, relying on support from Nitish Kumar’s JDU and Chandrababu Naidu’s TDP to maintain power.
Sources indicate that the Opposition had proposed to support the NDA’s Speaker nomination in return for the Deputy Speaker’s post. Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge conveyed to senior BJP leader and Union Minister Rajnath Singh that the Deputy Speaker should be from the Opposition benches. Kharge emphasized that while the Opposition seeks consensus, it is essential to uphold healthy traditions.
Earlier today, Om Birla met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of the second day of the Parliament session. Birla, a veteran BJP member since his days as a student leader, currently represents the Kota-Bundi constituency in Rajasthan. He was re-elected for a second consecutive term in the recent Lok Sabha elections and has previously served three terms in the Rajasthan Assembly.
Birla made history in 2019 by becoming the first MP from Rajasthan to be unanimously elected as the Speaker of the 17th Lok Sabha. His selection, initially a surprise, has been lauded for his inclusive leadership style.
K Suresh, Birla’s opponent, secured his eighth consecutive Lok Sabha victory from Mavelikkara, defeating CPI’s emerging leader CA Arun Kumar by a narrow margin of 10,000 votes. Mavelikkara, dominated by the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF), posed a significant challenge for Suresh. A top contender for the Kerala Congress chief position in 2021, Suresh is currently a special invitee to the Congress Working Committee (CWC), the party’s highest decision-making body. He also serves as the working president of the Congress’s Kerala unit and has previously held the role of All India Congress Committee (AICC) secretary.
