Lok Sabha speaker post: Speculation of ‘election’ rattles alliance partners; BJP’s choice might prevail

Hyderabad/ New Delhi: The post of Lok Sabha speaker will be decided on June 26 but the heat has already begun in political circles. There have been talks of an ‘election’ for the speaker and deputy speaker’s posts, especially from the Opposition.

What is the process of choosing a Lok Sabha speaker?

As per Article 93 of the Constitution, “The House of the People shall, as soon as may be, choose two members of the House to be respectively Speaker and Deputy Speaker…”

Every Lok Sabha speaker since Independence has been decided in this way from the consensus of both ruling and Opposition parties.

However, many questions still remain unanswered: Will the same process continue for choosing the 18th Lok Sabha speaker? As rumours claim, will there be an ‘election’ for the post or another similar method displaying a show of strength? And if so, why?

The 18th Lok Sabha will be meeting for its first session from June 24 to July 3 and the choice has to be made at the beginning of the session.

BJP’s choice might rule over the rest

The political circles are abuzz that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is having its way over its National Democratic Alliance (NDA) partners. Sources said that the two main partners – Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and Janta Dal (United) – have given in to the demands of the BJP.

This has led to some distress among the MPs of the NDA and the BJP who hoped to raise a voice against the policies of the ruling government.

“A section of leaders from the Rajput community are very upset with the BJP. They don’t want a speaker from the BJP. These developments are the cause for speculation that there can be an election for the post of speaker,” sources said.

What is the role of the speaker?

The post of a Lok Sabha speaker is important as it decides on the functioning of the Parliament. The speaker decides the agenda as a symbol of the strength of the ruling or alliance partners. The post is also important to control the legislative processes in the House.

Om Birla and Daggubati Purandeswari on the shortlist

BJP Members of Parliament will be meeting at defence minister Rajnath Singh’s residence to decide on the post of the speaker.

According to sources, the names doing rounds are that of former speaker Om Birla and Daggubati Purandeswari from Andhra Pradesh. Om Birla was elected from the Kota Parliamentary seat in Rajasthan and Purandeshwari was elected from the Rajahmundry PC.

TDP has not given names

TDP has not made any nominations from its end for the speaker’s post. According to sources, they have agreed to extend support to BJP’s selection for speaker. Chances are, if chosen, Purandeshwari will be the joint face of BJP and TDP.

INDIA alliance wants to contest speaker and deputy posts

According to sources, INDIA bloc members want the post of the speaker to be contested.

Given the situation in Lok Sabha, Congress has been asking its alliance partners to support a contest for the speaker and deputy speaker posts.

The post of deputy speaker and its importance to the Opposition

In the 16th Lok Sabha, the deputy speaker was AIADMK leader M Thambidurai but in the 17th Lok Sabha, the post was empty.

If the speaker post is contested, the deputy speaker post will follow the same procedure as it will not go to the Opposition.

INDIA alliance partners were looking at the TDP to claim the speaker post for their party leader.

“However, that is not happening now. The TDP has given in to the demands of the BJP. They are looking out for the benefits to Andhra Pradesh and want the pending works completed and investments to flow into the State. For this reason, there is no demand from them for the speaker post,” sources said. The names are yet to be finalised by them too.

Rijiju meets Kharge for consensus

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju met Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on June 16 to discuss the first session of the 18th Lok Sabha.

“I had a pleasant courtesy meeting with Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha and Congress party president Shri Mallikarjun Kharge ji. He shared with me about many valuable experiences of his life. Together, we all will work for the nation,” said Rijiju in his post on X.

According to sources, “Rijiju wanted to draw a consensus on the speaker post. The NDA is keen to not contest the post of the speaker.”

Choosing a speaker from the Opposition has happened before

Drawing examples from the terms under the UPA government, when the post of deputy speaker was offered to BJP MPs Charanjit Singh Atwal and Kariya Munda, a similar proposal has been put before Kharge, according to sources.

The functioning of the Parliament is important for both ruling and Opposition parties. But in the 17th Lok Sabha, Opposition parties were cornered and were also suspended which has made them wary of the legislative process.

For this reason, the post of the speaker has become a contentious issue in the 18th Lok Sabha.