The Lok Sabha is all set for a historic election for the Speaker as BJP’s Kota MP, Om Birla, and Congress veteran from Mavelikkara constituency in Kerala, Kodikunnil Suresh, battle it out on Tuesday, June 26. Although the Opposition is almost sure to be defeated by the ruling NDA in the election, it wants to push forward with its candidate in the Speaker’s election to send across a message that the Centre can’t “bulldoze INDIA bloc as it did last time”.
On Monday, the Opposition declined to participate in the panel to assist the pro-tem Speaker and accused the government of not following the tradition of electing the most senior Lok Sabha MP to the temporary post.
Lok Sabha Speaker Election
The Parliament will conduct the rare election for the post of Lok Sabha Speaker on Wednesday, June 26. The election comes after negotiations between the government and the Opposition to elect a speaker failed. Om Birla, who was the speaker of the 17th Lok Sabha, has again been fielded by the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance as a candidate. His nomination seems to be the BJP’s attempt to deliver a message of preservation of “continuity”.
The INDIA coalition of Opposition parties has nominated Suresh, who has been elected an MP for the 8th time, in Kodikunnil. This will be the third time in the history of India that the election for the post of Lok Sabha Speaker will be held.
Why Congress Is Fighting A Battle It’s Likely To Lose
In most cases, the ruling party and the opposition parties jointly choose a Speaker unanimously. The ruling National Democratic Alliance at the Centre wants to continue the tradition in the 18th Lok Sabha. In this regard, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh sought the support of the Opposition parties for this.
The Opposition was not altogether averse to the idea. However, the Congress and DMK put forth a condition that the post of Deputy Speaker should be given to the Opposition parties. But the government did not agree. Due to this, the Opposition fielded K Suresh for the Speaker’s post just 10 minutes before the nomination deadline closed.
As the ruling NDA has 293 members in the 543-member Lok Sabha, its candidate Om Birla is expected to win. However, the Opposition’s decision to fight a battle it is almost sure to lose is likely to send across the message that the treasury bench can expect stiff resistance if it tries to push through Bills by “bulldozing” the Opposition. Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi had earlier told ABP Live: “The government talks about agreement on various but is not ready to even give the Deputy Speaker’s post to the Opposition. PM Modi just wants to bulldoze the Opposition as the government did in the last Parliament session by suspending MPs.”
K Suresh said, “The Government compelled the INDIA Alliance to contest the election. We don’t want to contest the election against the Speaker, but when the Government approached INDIA, especially the Congress party leadership, we asked about the Deputy Speaker post. At that time, we were not given any assurance. Yesterday, too they didn’t give any assurance by 11.30 AM. They said, first you support the Speaker election and after that we can discuss the Deputy Speaker. So, that reply was not satisfactory. So, our leaders decided to contest the Speaker’s post. This election is due to the adamant stand of NDA leadership. Otherwise, it could have been avoided. But they are not ready to cooperate with the Opposition, they are not ready to give a chance to the Opposition for the Deputy Speaker’s post.”
#WATCH | INDIA bloc’s candidate for the Lok Sabha Speaker post, Congress MP K. Suresh says, “The Government compelled the INDIA Alliance to contest the election. We don’t want to contest the election against the Speaker but when the Government approached INDIA Alliance,… pic.twitter.com/MUN7HQ1TEv
— ANI (@ANI) June 26, 2024
Om Birla Vs K Suresh
If Om Birla wins, he will have the honour of being elected Speaker twice in a row in the last 25 years. He is a three-time MP from the Kota constituency in Rajasthan. As many as 10 nomination papers have been filed in his favour.
On the other hand, 66 year-old senior Congress MP from Kerala K Suresh has three nominations in his favour. He has been elected to the Lok Sabha for the 8th time. He belongs to the Dalit community. Born in 1962 in Kodikunnil, Thiruvananthapuram, Suresh has been a Member of Parliament since 1989.
Elections for the post of Speaker of the Lok Sabha were held several times before Independence. But in Independent India, elections have been held only twice — in 1952 and 1976. The election on Wednesday comes after about 48 years.
