New Delhi, June 25 : Om Birla of the BJP and Kodikunnil Suresh of the Congress will vie for the Lok Sabha Speaker’s post following unsuccessful attempts to broker a consensus between the government and the opposition on Tuesday.
The voting is scheduled to take place on Wednesday. Both Birla and Suresh have filed their nominations as candidates of the NDA and INDIA bloc, respectively.
Birla, who previously served as Speaker in the last Lok Sabha, could become the first person in 25 years to secure the position for a second term. Prior to filing his nomination, Birla met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He has represented Kota in Rajasthan for the third consecutive term.
Suresh, an eight-time MP from Kerala, emphasized that the issue is not about winning or losing but adhering to the convention that the Speaker belongs to the ruling party while the deputy speaker represents the opposition.
“In the last two Lok Sabhas, they denied us the deputy speaker’s post, citing that we were not recognized as the opposition. Now that we are recognized, the deputy speaker’s post is our right. But they are unwilling to grant it to us. We were waiting for a reply from the government till 11:50 PM, but they did not respond,” Suresh informed reporters.
Senior BJP leader and Union Minister Rajnath Singh reached out to opposition leaders seeking their support for Birla. However, the Congress demanded the deputy speaker’s post for the opposition, citing established conventions and past practices.
Notably, there was no deputy speaker in the previous Lok Sabha. Union Ministers Rajiv Ranjan Singh and Piyush Goyal criticized the opposition for imposing conditions, while Rajnath Singh assured them that the issue could be discussed when the time for electing the deputy speaker arrives.
The opposition insisted on immediate appointment to the post, which the NDA declined to accept, the two ministers informed reporters.
Earlier in the day, Congress leader K C Venugopal and DMK’s T R Baalu exited Defense Minister Singh’s office, refusing to endorse Birla’s candidacy unless the deputy speaker’s position was assured for the opposition.
Venugopal alleged that the BJP had not committed to offering the deputy speaker’s post to the opposition. Union Ministers Amit Shah and J P Nadda, along with Singh, attempted to persuade opposition leaders to endorse the NDA nominee but faced resistance.
Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh criticized the turn of events, noting that it occurred just 24 hours after the Prime Minister had called for consensus.
“The convention has been that the Speaker is elected unanimously and the deputy speaker’s post goes to the Opposition,” Ramesh remarked. He accused Prime Minister Modi of disregarding this tradition.
“It is actually no surprise. He has still not woken up to the reality of the 2024 poll verdict which was a PPM defeat for him–personal, political and moral,” Ramesh commented on X.
Sources revealed that over 10 sets of nominations were submitted in support of Birla’s candidacy, including endorsements from Prime Minister Modi, Union Ministers Shah, Singh, and Nadda, as well as BJP allies such as TDP, JD(U), JD(S), and LJP (R). Three sets of nominations were filed in support of Suresh, a prominent Dalit leader.
