Two-term BJP MP Om Birla set to become Speaker of 17th Lok Sabha

With Birla's nomination, the National Democratic Alliance has departed from the decade-and-a-half old trend of nominating an experienced parliamentarian to the post

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) parliamentarian Om Birla is set to become the Speaker of the 17th Lok Sabha after Wednesday's election.

Birla, 57, is a two term Lok Sabha Member of Parliament. He won from Rajasthan’s Kota-Bundi seat in the just concluded general election. Birla has been a three-term legislator in the Rajasthan Assembly.

Not just BJP's allies in the National Democratic Alliance, but parties such as the Biju Janata Dal, YSR Congress and others are also likely to support his candidature.

Birla’s nomination by the BJP leadership as the party's candidate for the Speaker’s post suggests that it is