BJP leader and NDA candidate Om Birla was on June 26 elected as speaker of the 18th Lok Sabha. Birla was elected against the INDIA bloc’s candidate K Suresh during the voice vote held in the House on Wednesday.
Earlier, the motions to elect a Speaker of the Lok Sabha were moved by both NDA and INDIA factions. Traditionally, the Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha were elected based on consensus between the ruling party and the opposition.
Om Birla is a three-time MP from Kota, Rajasthan. He was the speaker in the previous Lok Sabha (17th) too. K Suresh of the Congress has served eight terms representing Kerala’s Mavelikara constituency. Suresh holds the distinction of being the longest-serving parliamentarian in the 18th Lok Sabha.
Following this election, President Murmu will address a joint session of both houses of Parliament on June 27.
The disagreement arose when the NDA rejected the demand from the Opposition INDIA bloc to have the Deputy Speaker’s position in exchange for their support for the NDA’s Speaker nominee.
Initially, the INDIA bloc had sought the Deputy Speaker’s role. However, due to the BJP’s lack of clarity on this issue, the INDIA bloc has nominated Congress MP K Suresh as their candidate for the Speaker’s position.
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