The Congress’ nomination of K. Suresh followed a standoff between the INDIA bloc and the BJP’s ruling coalition, which had called for a consensus to re-appoint Kota MP Om Birla as the Speaker.
New Delhi: The BJP’s ruling coalition and the Congress’ INDIA opposition bloc will go head-to-head Wednesday in a battle for the Speaker’s post, one of the most important positions in a parliamentary democracy. This election, the first since 1952, follows a failure to agree on a division of seats.
The election will feature the BJP’s Om Birla, a three-time MP from Kota in Rajasthan, against the Congress’ Kodikunnil Suresh, an eight-term parliamentarian from Kerala’s Mavelikara. Mr. Birla is expected to win given the BJP-led alliance’s majority; the Lok Sabha Speaker is elected by a simple majority of MPs voting, and the ruling coalition can call on 293 votes to the INDIA bloc’s 232.
BJP Seeks Consensus, Congress Responds
Ahead of the noon deadline to file nominations, there was much drama as the BJP sought the opposition’s consensus over Mr. Birla’s re-appointment as the Lok Sabha Speaker. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju were tasked with this mission.
Mr. Singh and Mr. Rijiju met INDIA bloc leaders, including the Congress’ Mallikarjun Kharge, and were told consensus was not an issue as long as the Deputy Speaker’s post was allotted to the opposition. Traditionally, this post is reserved for an opposition MP to ensure a balanced House. The position was not filled during the second Modi government (2019-2024), but in the first (2014-2019), it was awarded to an ally of the BJP – the AIADMK’s M. Thambidurai.
Unfortunately for the BJP, the meeting with opposition leaders did not go as hoped; the INDIA bloc agreed to support Mr. Birla’s candidacy provided they were given the Deputy Speaker’s post. Sources indicated the BJP was not forthcoming on this demand, wanting immediate consensus for Mr. Birla and deferring the decision on his deputy.
As the deadline approached, whispers emerged that the Congress’ K. Suresh would be offered as an alternative to Om Birla. Senior leaders from the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance accompanied Mr. Birla to file his papers, and it was confirmed that Mr. Suresh had also submitted his nomination.
In the ensuing back-and-forth, BJP sources told a media house that efforts had been made to build consensus, but the opposition responded with “pressure politics.” Sources claimed the Congress’ K. C. Venugopal and T. R. Baalu of Tamil Nadu’s ruling DMK insisted on a commitment from the BJP that the Deputy Speaker would be a member of the INDIA grouping. The BJP, unwilling to offer such an assurance, blamed the opposition’s “lack of commitment” for the failure to reach consensus.
Union Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu criticized the opposition for placing conditions, telling reporters, “Democracy does not work on conditions… NDA did what it could to build consensus for the Speaker’s post. When it was their turn (the opposition’s) to help… they put up a condition. This was never a convention to support Speaker…They want to do politics in this too.”
Who Will Be Lok Sabha Speaker?
The battle for the Speaker’s post has been ongoing since the 2024 Lok Sabha election results were announced, revealing the BJP could not form its third successive government without support from allies, particularly Chandrababu Naidu’s TDP and Nitish Kumar’s JDU. There was speculation that a TDP MP might be made Speaker as part of a deal to ‘reward’ the Andhra Pradesh party, but the BJP quickly clarified it would retain the key position.
There was also speculation that the BJP might appoint Bhartruhari Mahtab, its MP from Cuttack in Odisha, after the party formed a government in the eastern state for the first time. Instead, Mr. Mahtab was named Pro Tem Speaker and administered oaths to all Lok Sabha MPs on Monday.
