Bharatiya Janata Party MP Om Birla emerged as the ruling NDA’s top choice as Lok Sabha Speaker even as the Opposition INDIA bloc forced a contest for the post by fielding Kerala Congress leader and eight-time MP K Suresh as its nominee. Birla and Suresh filed their nominations at the Lok Sabha secretariat, setting the stage for a contest for the Lok Sabha Speaker’s post for the first time in independent India.

The NDA’s choice was a reflection of the BJP’s bid to portray continuity in government as it did in its selection of Cabinet ministers. Most top ministers in the Modi 3.0 Cabinet retained their portfolios as well. The continuation of Om Birla as Lok Sabha Speaker is a bid to portray the same sentiment to overshadow any narrative being formed against the BJP following the muted performance in the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections.

The Opposition, on the other hand, has forced a contest knowing fully well that it does not have the required numbers to get its nominee elected as the Speaker. The Congress named K Suresh as its nominee for the Speaker’s post after the Centre’s refusal to accept the INDIA bloc’s caveat that it would support the NDA’s Speaker nominee if the Deputy Speaker’s position was left for it.

Notably, the Opposition’s action came after the BJP refused to accept its demand that K Suresh be appointed as the Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker. “Rajnath Singh called Mallikarjun Kharge and he asked him to extend support to the Speaker. The entire Opposition said that we would support the Speaker but the convention is that the Deputy Speaker post should be given to the opposition. Rajnath Singh said that he would call back Mallikarjun Kharge but he has not done that yet…PM Modi is asking for cooperation from the Opposition but our leader is getting insulted,” Congress MP Rahul Gandhi told the media earlier today.

The BJP, on the other hand, slammed the Congress for breaking away from tradition and forcing a contest by attempting to force conditions unpon the House. “They said first decide the name for Deputy Speaker then we will support the Speaker candidate. We condemn such politics. A good tradition would have been to choose the Speaker unanimously. The Speaker does not belong to any party or opposition; he belongs to the entire House. Similarly, the Deputy Speaker also does not belong to any party or group; he belongs to the entire House and hence there should be consent of the House. Such conditions that only a particular person or from a particular party should be the Deputy Speaker, do not fit into any tradition of the Lok Sabha,” Union minister Piyush Goyal said.

Earlier this week, the NDA had tasked senior BJP leader and Union minister Rajnath Singh to reach out to the Opposition and draw a consensus over the NDA’s nominee. Initial reports suggested that the NDA had managed to secure the Opposition’s go-ahead for the Speaker’s post. However, its reluctance to accept the condition regarding the appointment of a Deputy Speaker of its choice led to the current stalemate.

The Speaker’s election is scheduled to be held on June 26 at 11 AM in Lok Sabha.