Om Birla’s second innings as Lok Sabha Speaker: Grassroots leader who rose through BJP ranks

The ruling BJP-led NDA’s nominee Om Birla has been elected as the Speaker of the 18th Lok Sabha on Wednesday by a voice vote as the House saw a rare contest for the crucial post. The three-term BJP MP from Rajasthan’s Kota, Birla was also the Speaker of the previous House.

The Lok Sabha witnessed a contest between Birla and the INDIA bloc’s nominee Kodikunnil Suresh, the eight-time Congress MP from Kerala’s Mavelikara, after the Narendra Modi-led NDA government and the Opposition alliance failed to reach a consensus. With the numbers on the NDA’s side, Birla was expected to sail through smoothly.

On Wednesday morning, PM Modi moved the motion in the House to elect Birla as the new Speaker. The motion in favour of Suresh’s bid was moved by Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Arvind Sawant. Birla won by a voice vote.

Following his election, Birla was congratulated by PM Modi and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, both of whom escorted him to the Speaker’s chair. The PM said Birla’s experience of being a Speaker in the 17th Lok Sabha would help him guide the country further.

In the previous House, when the BJP had absolute majority on its own, Birla was elected as the Speaker unopposed on June 19, 2019. PM Modi had picked him for the post.

In his first five-year stint as the Speaker, Birla had a mixed track record. He led a House that had a brute majority of the NDA. So during this tenure, the Lok Sabha saw the highest number of suspensions of the Opposition MPs in a single session ever, with 100 MPs being suspended from the House between December 14 and 21, 2023.

Birla is however also said to have made attempts to “accommodate” the voices of the Opposition members by giving opportunity to many of their MPs to speak on a wide range of issues. He would