Bharatiya Janata Party nominee Om Birla has been elected as the Lok Sabha Speaker once again. The NDA candidate was poised to retain the Speaker’s post as the numbers were in favour of the ruling coalition.
Following the win, Om Birla was congratulated by PM Modi and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, both of whom escorted him to the Speaker’s chair.
Prime Minister Modi today said that Birla’s experience of being a Speaker in the last term would help him guide the country further.
He was up against Congress candidate K Suresh, who filed his nomination after the ruling party and Opposition failed to reach a consensus last evening.
On Monday night, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh engaged with Congress President and Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, and other opposition leaders to seek consensus on Om Birla’s nomination.
According to Congress sources, Kharge raised the issue of the Deputy Speaker during their discussion and was informed it could be addressed on Tuesday morning. However, just before the noon deadline for Speaker nominations on Tuesday, the ruling party requested signatures on Birla’s nomination papers without committing to the Deputy Speaker issue.
