Birla, Suresh file nomination for first LS speaker election ever
Bharatiya Janata Party MP Om Birla and Congress MP Kondikunal Suresh on Tuesday filed nominations for the Lok Sabha speaker election after talks between the ruling National Democratic Alliance and the opposition's Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance to build consensus failed. This is the first time that the Lok Sabha will witness an election for the appointment of the speaker The speaker's election is scheduled to occur at 11:00am on Wednesday.
BJP short of majority, relies on allies for power
Earlier in the day, Birla held talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of the day two of the Parliament. Notably, despite being the single-largest party in Parliament with 240 seats, Prime Minister Modi's BJP is short of a majority by 32 seats. To retain power, the party relies on support from Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal (United) and Chandrababu Naidu's Telugu Desam Party.
Lok Sabha Speaker election scheduled for June 26
Reports indicate that the opposition requested an immediate commitment to the deputy speaker position in exchange for supporting the uncontested re-election of Birla. However, the BJP-led NDA rejected this proposal, preferring not to accept conditional backing. In 2014, the BJP had appointed the AIADMK's M Thambi Durai as deputy speaker, a position that has remained vacant since 2019.
Controversy over pro-tem speaker's appointment
The lack of consensus on the speaker's appointment follows a contentious dispute between the government and the opposition regarding the selection of pro-tem speaker Bhartruhari Mahtab. On Monday, opposition leaders declined to participate in the panel assisting the pro-tem speaker. Led by the Congress, the opposition criticized the government for breaking from tradition by "not appointing the most senior member of the Lok Sabha to the temporary position."
Birla likely to be elected twice
Meanwhile, Birla, who has been associated with the BJP since his student days, currently serves as an MP from the Kota-Bundi constituency in Rajasthan. He was reelected for a second consecutive term in the recent Lok Sabha elections. In 2019, Birla became the first MP from Rajasthan to be elected as Speaker of the 17th Lok Sabha. If elected again, he will match the Congress's Balram Jhakhar's record of being chosen speaker twice.
