Om Birla vs K Suresh in LS Speaker election as INDIA puts forth nominee

Opposition candidate K Suresh will be contesting against NDA's Om Birla, in the third election for the Speaker post since independence

The Congress-led INDIA opposition bloc has put forward Kodikunnil Suresh, an eight-time Congress MP from Kerala, for the position of Lok Sabha Speaker. This nomination has prompted an election, first after 1976, and third in independent India, in the Parliament. 

This will be the third time since India’s independence that an election for the post of Lok Sabha Speaker’s role will be held.

Kodikunnil Suresh, currently serving his eighth term, is a prominent Dalit leader from Kerala. Initially, the Opposition had planned to nominate him as the Deputy Speaker. However, unsuccessful negotiations between the government and the opposition led to his candidacy for the Speaker’s position. 

Janata Dal (United) leader Lalan Singh confirmed that Om Birla filed nomination for the Speaker’s post as an NDA consensus candidate.

Suresh’s nomination highlights the ongoing tension between the INDIA group and the ruling BJP-led coalition. The ruling coalition had sought to build consensus with the opposition to re-appoint Kota MP Om Birla as the Speaker. Despite these efforts, the opposition proceeded with their candidate.

On the deadline day for submitting candidacies, all parties were required to file their notices with the pro-tem Speaker by noon. The Speaker election is scheduled to take place on June 26. 

Earlier, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi had mentioned that the Opposition was willing to support the National Democratic Alliance’s (NDA) candidate for the Lok Sabha Speaker role, provided the BJP followed the convention of allotting the Deputy Speaker position to the INDIA bloc. 

Gandhi criticised Prime Minister Modi’s call for constructive cooperation, noting that Rajnath Singh had reached out to Mallikarjun Kharge for support but had not followed up as promised. Gandhi expressed that this lack of follow-through was an insult to their leader.

“Rajnath Singh said that he would call back Mallikarjun Kharge but he has not done that yet... PM Modi is asking for cooperation from the Opposition but our leader is getting insulted,” he added.

Furthermore, Suresh had criticised the appointment of Bhartruhari Mahtab as the pro-tem Speaker, arguing that it violated the traditions of the House, given that Mahtab is not the senior-most member of the Lok Sabha.