Lok Sabha Election 2024, Speaker Election Highlights: The stage is set for a contest for the post of Lok Sabha Speaker with BJP MP Om Birla and Congress MP K Suresh filing their nominations on Tuesday. The development came after the NDA refused to accept the Opposition INDIA bloc’s demand that the Deputy Speaker’s position be left for the Opposition in exchange for its support to the NDA nominee. The Opposition had earlier agreed to support the NDA nominee if this condition was met. The development sets the stage for a contest for the Lok Sabha Speaker for the first time since 1946. The election for the post of Lok Sabha Speaker is scheduled to be held at 11 AM on June 26.
The NDA on Monday named BJP president Jagat Prakash Nadda as the Lead of the House in the Rajya Sabha. The move comes after the previous Lead of the House Piyush Goyal moved to the Lok Sabha after winning the elections. Nadda currently serves as the BJP president and is set to be replaced soon.
The special session of Parliament that got underway on Monday is likely to see the INDIA bloc of Opposition parties lead a fierce attack against the Centre over multiple issues. The third term of the NDA government is off on a rough note with issues such as the NEET paper leak, cancellation of the UGC NET exam, the Reasi terror attack and the Kanchanjungha Express accident underlining the first few days of Modi 3.0. The Opposition is set to corner the government on these issues once the regular proceedings begin in Parliament following the President’s address to a joint sitting of Parliament on June 27, a day after the new Lok Sabha Speaker is elected.
The Speaker is elected from among the members of the lower house of Parliament. Lok Sabha MPs cast their votes in a secret ballot, and the candidate who secures the majority of votes becomes the Speaker of the Lok Sabha.
Any member of the Lok Sabha can be nominated for the position of Speaker. Typically, seniority, experience, and impartiality are important factors in the selection of the Speaker.
In a new Lok Sabha, the Speaker is elected by a simple majority. Until the Speaker is elected, a pro-tem Speaker is appointed to fulfill essential duties temporarily. The term ‘pro-tem’ signifies that the position is temporary.
While the Constitution does not specifically mention the role of the pro-tem Speaker, the official “Handbook on the Working of Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs” provides guidelines for the appointment and duties of the Speaker pro-tem.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Council of Ministers were among the leaders who took oath as Lok Sabha MPs on the first day of the special session of Parliament that got underway today. The swearing-in is set to continue for another day before the Lok Sabha takes up the election of the new Speaker.
Pro-tem Speaker Bhartruhari Mahtab, former Union minister Radha Mohan Singh and BJP‘s Andhra Pradesh unit president D Purandeswari are among the names being seen as the likely contenders for the post of Lok Sabha Speaker. The Opposition, which is insisting that eight-time Congress MP K Suresh be appointed as the Deputy Speaker in line with convention, the government is yet to make up its mind over whether it should hand over the post to one of its alliance partners or keep it vacant as was the case in the 17th Lok Sabha.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Council of Ministers have taken oath as Lok Sabha MPs during the inaugural day of the special session of Parliament on Monday. A total of 543 MPs are to be sworn in during the first and second days of the special session.
The election for the Lok Sabha Speaker will be held on Wednesday, June 26, a day after all newly-elected MPs have been sworn in. The process of the election of new Speaker will be overseen by pro-tem Speaker Bhartruhari Mahtab. He was was sworn in by President Droupadi Murmu on Monday morning ahead of the first sitting of the 18th Lok Sabha.
Seven-time MP Bhartruhari Mahtab, senior BJP leader Radha Mohan Singh and BJP’s Andhra Pradesh unit president D Purandeswari are said to be in the reckoning for the post of Lok Sabha Speaker. The BJP, which emerged victorious in the recently held Lok Sabha elections, wants to offer the Deputy Speaker’s position to one of its alliance parties. The Opposition, on the other hand, is insisting that the post goes to eight-time Congress MP K Suresh. The Narendra Modi government had offered the position to AIADMK in 2014 while the post remained empty during its second term.
The 18th Lok Sabha commenced on Monday with a special session of Lok Sabha where the newly-elected MPs are being administered the oath of office by pro-tem Speaker Bhartruhari Mahtab. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Council of Ministers were the first to be sworn-in. The first two days of the special session have been reserved for the swearing-in of new MPS, which will be followed by the election of the Speaker on June 26.
Bhartruhari Mahtab, the pro-tem Speaker of the Lok Sabha, may emerge as the NDA nominee, sources said. The names of other BJP leaders including former union minister Radha Mohan Singh and BJP’s Andhra Pradesh unit president D Purandeswari are also believed to be in the reckoning.
The appointment of the new Lok Sabha Speaker could see a contest for the first time in independent India if the government does not agree to appoint eight-time Congress MP K Suresh as the Deputy Speaker. The Opposition INDIA bloc is reported to have conveyed to the Centre that it will force a contest for the Speaker’s post by fielding Suresh as its nominee if he isn;t appointed Deputy Speaker. The Lok Sabha Speaker has always been chosen through consensus.
The election of the new Lok Sabha Speaker will be held on June 26, the third day of the special session of Parliament convened from June 24 to July 3. President Droupadi Murmu on Monday administered oath to Bhartruhari Mahtab as pro-tem Speaker. The first two days of the Special Session have been reserved for the swearing-in of the newly-elected MPs. The 18th Lok Sabha may see a break of tradition as both sides brace for a contest for the appointment of the new Lok Sabha Speaker.