Om Birla and K Suresh Compete for Lok Sabha Speaker Post
On June 25, Om Birla from the NDA and K Suresh from the INDIA bloc filed their nominations for the Speaker of the 18th Lok Sabha. This marks the first election for this post, as traditionally, the Speaker and Deputy Speaker are elected by consensus between the ruling party and the opposition.
The election for the Speaker will take place on June 26, and President Murmu will address a joint sitting of both houses of Parliament on June 27.
About Om Birla
Om Birla is an agriculturist and social worker who has been active in politics since his student days. He served as the state unit president of the Bhartiya Yuva Morcha in 1991 and as vice-president at the national level. Birla was elected to the 17th Lok Sabha from Kota, defeating Congress’ Ramnarain Meena by over 2.5 lakh votes. He was also a member of various parliamentary committees and was unanimously elected as the Speaker of the 17th Lok Sabha.
About K Suresh
K Suresh is the longest-serving Lok Sabha MP, having been an MP for 29 years. He was first elected to the Lok Sabha in 1989 and has won multiple consecutive elections. Suresh is the working-president of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) and was the chief whip of the Congress Parliamentary Party in the 17th Lok Sabha.
Political Dynamics
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi mentioned that the opposition is ready to support the NDA’s Speaker candidate if the post of Deputy Speaker is given to the opposition. The NDA has a clear majority with 293 MPs in the 543-member Lok Sabha, while the opposition INDIA bloc has 234 MPs.
