The Opposition’s INDIA bloc might field a candidate for the post of Speaker for the 18th Lok Sabha if the Deputy Speaker’s post is not given to their camp, according to sources. The Lok Sabha will elect its new Speaker on June 26 for which notices for motions supporting candidates can be submitted till noon a day prior, according to the Lok Sabha secretariat.
Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) may “retain” the post of Speaker, with a party MP likely to be elected for the role.
Who Will Be Lok Sabha Speaker?
Dismissing media reports suggesting that National Democratic Alliance (NDA) partners–Janta Dal-United (JD-U) and Telugu Desam Party (TDP)–had demanded the Lok Sabha Speaker’s post, a senior party leader told news agency IANS that the matter would be first considered internally before discussing it with allies to reach a consensus.
However, JD(U) and TDP do not appear to have a consensus on the topic. While Andhra Pradesh CM N Chandrababu Naidu’s TDP said that NDA partners must finalise a consensus candidate, his Bihar counterpart Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United) said it would back the BJP’s decision.
JD(U) leader KC Tyagi has said that his party and TDP are part of the NDA and will support the candidate nominated by BJP for the post of Lok Sabha Speaker.
“The Speaker is always of the ruling party because its number is also the highest (among alliance parties),” Tyagi said.
On the other hand, TDP national spokesperson Pattabhi Ram Kommareddy told The Indian Express that the candidate must be jointly decided by NDA partners.
“The NDA partners will sit together and decide who our candidate for the Speaker is going to be. Once a consensus is reached, we will field that candidate and all partners, including the TDP, will support the candidate,” IE quoted Kommareddy as saying.
How And When Speaker Will Be Elected?
During the first session of the 18th Lok Sabha, starting on June 24, the BJP will reach out to opposition parties to ensure the Speaker is elected unanimously. If the opposition agrees to the government’s proposal, an election will not be necessary.
However, if the opposition fields its candidate, a vote for the new Speaker might take place on June 26, with the new Speaker assuming office on the same day.
In the Modi government’s first term, Sumitra Mahajan, a BJP MP from Indore, Madhya Pradesh, served as Lok Sabha Speaker, while in the second term, Om Birla, a BJP MP from Kota, Rajasthan, held the position.
Although the BJP does not hold a majority as it did in 2014 and 2019, speculation was rife that the TDP and a JD(U) MP were vying for the Speaker’s post.
Sources indicate that the name of the new Lok Sabha Speaker will be deliberated upon after Prime Minister Narendra Modi returns from Italy.
If any suggestions or demands regarding the position arise from allies, the BJP will consider a new formula.
(With IANS Inputs)
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