For the first time in decades, an election for the Lok Sabha Speaker’s post will take place on Wednesday due to the failure of the BJP’s ruling NDA government and the Congress-led INDIA opposition to reach a consensus.
Historically, the election for Lok Sabha Speaker has only occurred three times: in 1952, 1967, and 1976.
Traditionally, the Lok Sabha Speaker and Deputy Speaker were elected through an agreement between the ruling party and the Opposition.
The upcoming contest will feature BJP’s Om Birla, a three-time MP from Kota in Rajasthan, against Congress’ Kodikunnil Suresh, an eight-term parliamentarian from Kerala’s Mavelikara. Suresh is the longest-serving parliamentarian in the 18th Lok Sabha.
Both the ruling BJP and the main opposition Congress Party have issued three-line whips to their members, mandating their presence in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday from 11 am until the end of the proceedings.
The Lok Sabha Speaker will be elected on June 26. On June 27, President Murmu is scheduled to address a joint sitting of both houses of Parliament.
This development occurred after the NDA refused to accept the Opposition INDIA bloc’s demand that the Deputy Speaker’s position be given to the Opposition in exchange for its support of the NDA nominee.
The INDIA bloc initially demanded the position of the Deputy Speaker. However, with no response from the BJP, the INDIA bloc nominated Congress MP K Suresh for the Speaker’s post.
On the other hand, the BJP nominated its Kota MP Om Birla for the Speaker post, who previously served as the Speaker in the 17th Lok Sabha.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi mentioned that they had informed Defence Minister Rajnath Singh that the Opposition is prepared to support the NDA’s Speaker candidate, provided that the Deputy Speaker position is given to the opposition.
Rahul Gandhi told the media on Tuesday, “We have said to Rajnath Singh that we will support their Speaker (candidate) but the convention is that the post of Deputy Speaker is given to the Opposition.”
The NDA, with 293 MPs in the 543-member Lok Sabha, holds a clear majority, while the opposition INDIA bloc comprises 234 MPs.
The first session of the 18th Lok Sabha began on June 24 and will conclude on July 3 for the oath/affirmation of newly elected Members.
The 264th Session of Rajya Sabha will commence on June 27 and conclude on July 3.
This is the first Lok Sabha session post-general elections in which the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) secured 293 seats while the INDIA bloc obtained 234 seats.
The BJP, however, did not reach a majority mandate, winning only 240 seats.