Congress’s Kodikunnil Suresh will go up against the BJP’s Om Birla for the post of Speaker for the 18th Lok Sabha. The vote for the post of Speaker was necessitated after the Centre and the opposition could not reach a consensus. This will be the first vote for the post since 1952.
While BJP’s Om Birla is a three-time MP from Rajasthan’s Kota and the Speaker in the last Lok Sabha, Congress’s pick K Suresh is an eight-term MP from Kerala’s Mavelikara.
The vote for the post of Speaker will take into account the number of MPs present and voting. The majority’s pick will be elected the Speaker. The NDA, which has 293 MPs in the 543-member Lok Sabha, enjoys a clear majority, with the opposition INDIA bloc having 234 MPs.
Today’s election for the post of the Lok Sabha Speaker, already tilted in the government’s favour, can push the Opposition further down, with five of its 232 MPs yet to take oath. Seven MPs – five from the Opposition and two Independents – have not taken oath and cannot vote, sources have said.
The list includes stalwarts like Congress’s Shashi Tharoor and Trinamool Congress’s actor-politician Shatrughan Sinha. It is not yet known why the oath of some of these leaders is pending.