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With no consensus being reached between the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and the opposition parties on the post of Lok Sabha Speaker and the last date for nominations approaching, both the alliances have fielded separate candidates. When the Lok Sabha proceedings begin on June 26, MLAs will vote for the next Speaker, choosing between Om Birla of the Bharatiya Janata Party as the NDA candidate and Kodikunnil Suresh of the Congress as the opposition candidate.
Om Birla, three-time MP from Kota, and K Suresh, the longest-serving Lok Sabha MP from Kerala, have filed their nominations for the post of Lok Sabha Speaker. The nomination process will take place today, i.e. June 25, and the election will be held on June 26. Click here for live updates of the Lok Sabha session
Om Birla vs K Suresh: Who has an edge in the 543-member Lok Sabha?
The Lok Sabha speaker is elected by a simple majority. More than half of the 543 members present in the Lok Sabha vote for a particular candidate to become the speaker of the Lok Sabha.
The NDA has 293 MPs in the 543-member Lok Sabha and enjoys a clear majority. The opposition party has 234 MLAs in the lower house of Parliament.
With the numbers in favour of the NDA, Om Birla is set to become the Lok Sabha Speaker for a second term. Om Birla was first elected to the Lok Sabha in 2014. He was unanimously elected the Speaker of the 17th Lok Sabha upon his return as an MP from Kota.
Why did the opposition field K. Suresh?
The nomination of K Suresh as the opposition candidate comes after tense negotiations between the NDA and India Bloc over the deputy chairman post. The India Bloc said it was willing to support the NDA candidate but only if the deputy chairman post was given to the opposition.
Rahul Gandhi said Defence Minister and senior BJP leader Rajnath Singh had called Mallikarjun Kharge to build a consensus between the two factions but the talks over the Deputy Chairman’s post failed.
Rahul Gandhi said, “Rajnath Singh called Mallikarjun Kharge and asked him to support the Speaker. The entire opposition said we will support the Speaker, but the tradition is that the post of Deputy Speaker should be given to the opposition. Rajnath Singh said he will call Mallikarjun Kharge back, but he has not done so yet.”
Kodikunnil Suresh was fielded after the NDA did not accept the opposition’s demand for the post of deputy chairman.
This is the first Lok Sabha Speaker election after independence
This is the first time since independence that elections will be held for the Lok Sabha Speaker as the opposition has also fielded its candidate for the post. The election of the Lok Sabha Speaker and Deputy Speaker has always been done by consensus between the ruling party and the opposition.
As consensus could not be reached between the ruling NDA and the opposition, both factions fielded their candidates for the post of Lok Sabha Speaker. The election will be held on June 26.
What was the NDA’s response to the opposition’s demands?
BJP MPs say the opposition has acted against parliamentary convention by placing a pre-condition of ‘give and take’ for supporting the NDA candidate. However, Union minister Ramdas Athawale said in a democracy the opposition has the right to field a candidate but the NDA has the numbers.
Union Minister Prahlad Joshi said, “Rajnath Singh and Amit Shah had spoken to the opposition leaders, but they had put a condition of supporting our candidate for the Speaker. He said that there are no conditions for supporting the opposition leaders. [Opposition] We have the numbers, yet they are going to contest elections against us, but this is against parliamentary traditions.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said, “The Speaker is elected unanimously. It is disappointing that the Congress has nominated its candidate for the post of Speaker. This give-and-take for the posts of Speaker and Deputy Speaker is not right.”
“It is not a good thing to impose conditions. Democracy does not run on conditions,” said Union Civil Aviation Minister and TDP leader Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu.
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Published: June 25, 2024, 01:00 PM IST
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