Amid suspense over Dy Speaker post, TDP says it is not interested

While it is still not clear if the 18th Lok Sabha will have a Deputy Speaker, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) has said it is not interested in the post. With 16 seats in the Lok Sabha, the TDP is the BJP’s biggest ally and is key to the stability of the Narendra Modi government.

“We are not aspiring for the post. We have made it very clear,” the TDP’s national spokesperson Pattabi Ram Kommareddy told The Indian Express on Wednesday. The BJP too has not approached the TDP to fill the post, he said. “No meeting to this effect, that suggests the TDP should take up the deputy Speaker’s role, has happened so far,” Kommareddy said.

The statement comes amid speculation that the post could go to an ally, just like AIADMK had it in Modi’s first term.

Another top TDP leader said: “From the beginning, the TDP has not expressed its interest in either the Speaker or the Deputy Speaker post. We have left it open to the other (National Democratic Alliance) allies, that is if they are interested.” Hinting that the Janata Dal (United) could be interested in the role, the TDP leader said: “If an ally is to be chosen for the role, why not the JD(U)?”

A senior JD(U) leader said the party had not heard anything on this from the BJP. “The BJP has not yet indicated to us if there will be a Deputy Speaker post and if yes whether they are interested in giving it to us,” the leader said. Another party leader said it would appear odd as the Rajya Sabha already has a JD(U) nominee in Deputy Chairman of the House Harivansh.

Some BJP leaders also suggested that if no ally is interested in the post, then Opposition could be thought about.

The TDP, however, is not comfortable with the idea. Asked if the Opposition, going by convention, should get the post: