Kota MP Om Birla will again be the BJP-led ruling National Democratic Alliance’s candidate for the Lok Sabha Speaker’s post. While the BJP stuck to continuity, the Opposition sprung a surprise by nominating eight-term Congress MP K Suresh for the Speaker’s post, ensuring a contest in the Lower House.
After the Opposition and the BJP-led NDA failed to come to an agreement, there will be an election to fill the office of Speaker of the Lok Sabha. While the NDA has picked BJP MP Om Birla as its candidate, the opposition has decided to field veteran Congress leader K Suresh. It was earlier speculated that the Opposition may not name its own candidate, letting the NDA nominee get elected unopposed.
Following the Opposition INDIA bloc's announcement that it was weighing its options, the government sent out Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju to foster agreement on the Lok Sabha Speaker nominee.
Om Birla had won the Kota Lok Sabha seat by a margin of more than 41,000 votes in the general elections.
In 2019, Birla was unanimously elected as the Speaker of the 17th Lok Sabha, becoming the first MP from Rajasthan to hold the position. His selection was seen as a surprise by many, but he has been praised for his ability to take everyone along.
The BJP had appointed AIADMK's M Thambi Durai as Deputy Speaker in 2014. The post has been vacant since 2019.
The NDA has 293 MPs while the opposition INDIA bloc has 234 MPs in the 543-member Lok Sabha. A few independent MPs have announced their support to the Congress but the ruling alliance has a clear majority in the House.