Om Birla, a Member of Parliament from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has been elected as the Speaker of the 18th Lok Sabha in a closely contested election held on June 26. The decision came after motions in his support were moved by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and several MPs belonging to the BJP and the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
The parliamentary session witnessed a challenge from the Opposition, which put forward K Suresh as their candidate for the Speaker’s position. Ultimately, the election was concluded on Wednesday following negotiations between senior BJP leaders and the Opposition.
The Opposition had initially proposed that the INDIA bloc should be given the post of Deputy Speaker in exchange for supporting Om Birla’s candidacy. However, the final decision did not include this condition.
Notable BJP and NDA members such as Home Minister Amit Shah, Shiv Sena’s Prataprao Jadhav, and LJP(RV)’s Chirag Paswan actively supported Om Birla’s nomination during the session.
This election marked a significant moment in Indian parliamentary history as it was the first contested election for the Speaker of the Lok Sabha since 1976. The outcome highlights the democratic process within the parliamentary framework of India’s Lower House.