LS set for first Speaker seat contest since 1976; NDA fields Om Birla

In a first since 1976, the 18th Lok Sabha (LS) on Wednesday could see voting for the post of the Speaker as consensus eluded the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and Opposition INDIA bloc on the issue. An election could widen the trust deficit between the ruling coalition and the Opposition, and signal more friction between the two sides in the coming weeks and months.
 

On Tuesday, the NDA fielded Om Birla as its candidate for the Speaker of the 18th LS amid appeals to the INDIA bloc to honour the convention and support his candidature. The INDIA bloc, in turn, pointed to the convention that the Opposition should be given the post of Deputy Speaker. With no such assurance forthcoming from the NDA, it nominated Kodikunnil Suresh as its candidate against Birla.
 

In picking Birla — the 17th LS Speaker — as the NDA's choice, the BJP again conveyed a message of continuity that it had highlighted since it formed the government with its allies on June 9. Given the numbers the two blocs have, NDA's 293 versus INDIA bloc's 233 in a House of 542 (the Wayanad seat is now vacant), Birla's win is a foregone conclusion. "Convention has been that the Speaker is elected unanimously and the Deputy Speaker's post goes to the Opposition," Congress' Jairam Ramesh said, suggesting that the fight was symbolic.
 

In the morning, Congress leader K C Venugopal, accompanied by DMK's T R Baalu from the opposition side and Union ministers Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah and J P Nadda met at Singh's office in Parliament to evolve a consensus but to little avail. Venugopal and Baalu walked out, with the former accusing the government of not following the "convention" of an opposition candidate for the Deputy Speaker's position. Union minister Piyush Goyal accused the Opposition of resorting to pressure politics and putting forth preconditions despite senior ministers' assurance that its demand will be considered when the time comes to pick the Deputy Speaker.
 

Trinamool's Abhishek Banerjee said his party was not consulted on the issue of fielding Suresh. The INDIA bloc leaders met in the evening to discuss their strategy. Congress' Venugopal said the INDIA bloc would withdraw Suresh from the contest if the Opposition gets the Deputy Speaker's post.
 

Birla is a third-term Lok Sabha MP and a three-term former Rajasthan legislator, while Suresh is an eight-term MP from Kerala and hails from the Dalit community. The voting will take place by counting paper slips as MPs have yet to be allocated their seats.