BJP: The combined INDIA opposition bloc’s candidate, Kodikunnil Suresh, an eight-time MP from Mavelikara in Kerala and Speaker of the 17th Lok Sabha, opposes Om Birla.
According to sources, Jagan Mohan Reddy’s YSR Congress Party would support BJP MP Om Birla in the Lok Sabha Speaker’s race on Wednesday night, as reported by NDTV on Tuesday night. The YSRCP, which was crushed by TDP, has only four members in the Lower House. The party swept the southern state in 2019, winning 22 of 25 seats, but a repeat this year proved to be unachievable; Chandrababu Naidu’s TDP, which also won the Assembly election, secured 16 seats, while its allies, the BJP and actor Pawan Kalyan’s Jana Sena Party, won five seats between them.
As a result, the offer of assistance might not be noteworthy because Mr. Birla and the BJP already have enough votes to win, but it does highlight a recent pattern.
The YSRCP often supported the BJP in parliament, especially the Rajya Sabha, helping it pass laws when it lacked the numbers. For example, in the previous government, Mr. Reddy supported the passage of the Citizenship Amendment Act and repeal of Article 370.
Like the YSRCP, the BJD of former Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has signs of outside support. to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party. But unlike the YSRCP, the BJD is now without a single Lok Sabha MP for the first time in its history as these elections have left a void..
Significant or not, the four extra votes in the BJP’s corner mean that Birla has the support of 297 MPs, giving him an even more insurmountable lead. The BJP already has 240 votes from its MPs and 53 from its NDA partners, including 16 from YSRCP rival Chandrababu Naidu’s TDP.
On the other hand, the opposition corner has 232. The president is elected by a simple majority.
Mr. Birla, who was also the Speaker of the 17th Lok Sabha, will face Kodikunnil Suresh, an eight-time Congress MP from Kerala’s Mavelikara state, who is the candidate of the All India Opposition Bloc.
The BJP approached the opposition to reach an agreement on Birla as Speaker, following the parliamentary tradition of filling the post by consensus rather than election. The opposition said it would support Mr. Birla until a non-BJP MP was offered the post of vice president.
The ruling party, however, said it did not want to consider MP candidates at this time and called on INDIAN bloc leaders to first support Om Birla for the Speaker’s post..
However, the opposition refused to play ball and as the clock ticked down to the noon deadline, there were whispers that K Suresh of the Congress would be offered to replace Mr Birla.
After filing the papers, Mr. Suresh told the press: “It is the party’s decision… not mine. It is an agreement… that the vice president is from the opposition. But they (BJP) are not ready for that. We waited until 11:50 but no answer. So we appointed”.
Union minister Piyush Goyal, however, disputed the claim, saying there was no precedent to suggest that the post of vice-president should go to a member of the opposition party.
BJP Questioning, who might be the speaker?
The battle for the Speaker’s post has intensified since the 2024 Lok Sabha election results were declared and it became clear that the BJP will not be able to form its third successive government without the support of allies, especially the TDP and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish. Kumar’s JDU.
At the time, there was a lot of fuss about the TDP MP becoming speaker in a deal to “reward” the Andhra Pradesh party, but the BJP was quick to make it clear that it would retain the key position.
Then there was speculation that the BJP might nominate Bhartruhar Mahtab, its MP from Cuttack in Odisha, after the party formed the government for the first time in the eastern state.
Instead, Mr. Mahtab has been named Pro Tem Speaker and will administer the oath to all Lok Sabha MPs.
Congress that wanted Mr. Sureshit as Pro Tem, bash the BJP for appointing Mr. Mahtab. Chief executive KC Venugopal described it as “an attempt to destroy democratic norms.
