Speaker K Suresh vs Om Birla: Lok Sabha to witness rare election for Speaker today
The Indian Lok Sabha will witness a rare contest for the election of the Speaker on Wednesday with BJP's Om Birla, eyeing his second term, facing a challenge from INDIA alliance backed Congress MP K Suresh.
K Suresh is the eight-time MP from Kerala's Mavelikara.
The Speaker's election scheduled on Wednesday might go in favour of the government with the numbers stacked up for the ruling NDA alliance. However, Union Home Minister Amit Shah is not leaving any stone unturned to achieve the result in its favour.
Shah met with MPs and party leaders of the ruling alliance this evening and asked them to reach parliament by 10.30 Wednesday morning. He said attendance is mandatory.
Also Read: Ahead of Speaker election, NDA, Opposition bloc hold parallel meetings
The election of the Speaker, a first in decades, will take place at 11 am. To date, a Speaker has been chosen by consensus.
However, the Opposition, energised by their numbers in the Lok Sabha, has refused to accept the government's brush-off on the issue of the Pro Tem Speaker and the Deputy Speaker's post.
The Opposition initially expected Suresh to be the Pro Tem Speaker, a post that goes to the senior most member of the House. However, the government made it clear that they are not considering a Deputy Speaker post, or the Opposition's claim to it, for now.
With 10 minutes to go before today's deadline, the Congress filed papers fielding Suresh against the BJP's pick- Rajasthan MP Om Birla, who was the Speaker in the 17th Lok Sabha as well.
The numbers, as they stand now, do not favour the Opposition. The Speaker is elected by a simple majority of MPs present and voting.
The NDA can expect 293 votes to the Opposition bloc's 232.
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