Ruling out any miracle, National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidate Om Birla elected as the Speaker of the lower house of the Parliament by a voice vote.
The election for the Lok Sabha Speaker post was held in the Parliament for the first time in decades owing to a lack of consensus between the BJP-led NDA government and the Congress-led INDIA bloc opposition. The Congress had fielded Kodikunnil Suresh as its Lok Sabha Speaker candidate against BJP's Om Birla.
The third-time MP, OM Birla will be speaker for second time in a row and if he completes his five-year term this time, it will be a record of sorts.
Elated with the election of Om Birla, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he looks forward to the Speaker's guidance for the next five years.
Your sweet smile keeps the entire House happy…The previous Lok Sabha passed several path-breaking legislations under your leadership,” PM Modi told Birla while addressing the Lok Sabha.
The newly elected leader of the Opposition, Rahul Gandhi, who fielded Congress MP Kodikunnil Suresh against Birla, also extended wishes to Birla and accompanied him to the chair along with Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju and PM Modi.
Traditionally, the Lok Sabha Speaker and the Deputy Speaker are elected through a consensus between the ruling party and the opposition. However, an indecision between the two promoted an election this time. Such an election for the post has been held only three times in history—1952, 1967, and 1976.
Who is Om Birla?
Birla, born in 1962, is the 18th Lok Sabha Speaker. He was a two-term MP when he was made the Lok Sabha Speaker in 2019, a position usually reserved for senior leaders.
Birla's political career began in 1987 as the district president of the BJP's youth wing in Kota. In 2003, he won the Kota assembly seat for the first time and remained a Rajasthan lawmaker until 2014, when he won his first Lok Sabha election from Kota-Bundi Lok Sabha.
On June 19, 2019, Birla was elected as the Speaker of the 17th Lok Sabha. During his tenure, the Parliament passed landmark legislation such as the Women's Reservation Bill. It also scrapped Article 370.
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