Amid goading by Opposition, JD(U) backs BJP pick, TDP bats for ‘NDA face’

In the wake of the Opposition INDIA bloc’s constituents, the Congress and the AAP, suggesting that the JD(U) and the TDP, key allies of the ruling BJP-led NDA, must push for their nominee as the new Lok Sabha Speaker, the JD(U) said Saturday it will support any candidate chosen by the BJP for this crucial post.

“What Congress is doing is diversion. It is uncalled for. It is a convention that the largest party in the ruling coalition takes a call on the Speaker. Whatever decision the BJP takes, we will support it,” JD(U) national general secretary K C Tyagi told The Indian Express.

On its part, the TDP said the candidate to be put up for the Speaker’s position by the ruling coalition will be “an NDA candidate”. “The NDA partners will sit together and decide who our candidate for the Speaker is going to be. Once a consensus is reached, we will field that candidate and all partners, including the TDP, will support the candidate,” TDP national spokesperson Pattabhi Ram Kommareddy told The Indian Express.

Kommareddy refrained from making any comments on whether the TDP is rooting for its nominee to become the Lok Sabha Speaker. A TDP source, however, told The Indian Express the party has not “ruled out this option”. “Like all partners we have a say in selecting the candidate for the Speaker’s post,” the source said.

The support of TDP and the JD(U) is critical for the NDA government since the BJP, with 240 seats, fell short of the majority mark of 272 in the recent Lok Sabha elections. While the TDP bagged 16 seats, the JD(U) won 12 seats.

With the TDP not ruling out the option to stake its claim over the Speaker’s chair, the JD(U)’s stance boosts the BJP’s position. BJP sources have maintained that the party wants to keep the