Lok Sabha Speaker: Who has the strongest position in the Lok Sabha Speaker election? Understand the complete maths before voting

There was no consensus between the government and the opposition on Tuesday for the post of Lok Sabha Speaker. In such a situation, now BJP MP Om Birla will face Kodikunnil Suresh of Congress. Birla filed his nomination as a candidate for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and Suresh as a candidate of the opposition alliance Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (India).

The opposition took a last-minute decision to contest the Lok Sabha Speaker election when senior leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) did not agree to their condition that in return for supporting NDA candidate Birla, the opposition alliance 'India' should be given the post of Deputy Speaker.

Candidates for the post of Lok Sabha Speaker

Om Birla

He was among the most active MPs, he was also known for making tough decisions as a speaker

Om Birla, a three-time MP from Kota, Rajasthan, has also been an MLA in Rajasthan three times. He was also the National Vice President of BJYM.

As an MP, he participated in 671 questions and 163 debates with 86 percent attendance in his first term. He was made the Speaker of the Lok Sabha in 2019 after becoming an MP for the second time.

The new Parliament building was constructed during Birla's tenure.

Many historic laws including three criminal laws, the removal of Article 370, and the Citizenship Amendment Act were also passed.

He made tough decisions on suspending 100 Lok Sabha MPs and the security of Parliament.

K Suresh

Eight-time MP from Kerala, the High Court declared the election illegal in 2009

Opposition candidate for the post of Lok Sabha Speaker Kodikunnil Suresh is an eight-time MP from Kerala.

Born on 4 June 1962 in Thiruvananthapuram, K Suresh became a Lok Sabha MP for the first time in 1989. He also reached the Lok Sabha in 1991, 1996 and 1999. He lost in 1998 and 2004 but made a comeback in 2009.

In 2009, the Kerala High Court declared his election illegal, which was reinstated by the Supreme Court. His nearest rival, calling Suresh a Christian, accused him of submitting a fake caste certificate of being from the Scheduled Caste.

This is the mathematics of the House

The NDA, including the BJP, has 293 MPs in the House. At the same time, the opposition alliance has 233 members. After the resignation of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who was elected from two Lok Sabha seats, from Wayanad seat in Kerala, the total number of members in the House has come down to 542. At present, seven MPs have not taken the oath of membership of the Lok Sabha. In such a situation, this number has come down to 535.

This record will be registered in Birla's name

If Birla, BJP MP from Kota, is re-elected as the Lok Sabha Speaker, then this will be the fifth that a Speaker will hold this post for more than one Lok Sabha term. Congress leader Balram Jakhar was the only presiding officer who has completed two terms in the seventh and eighth Lok Sabha.

... The division of votes will be done by slips

According to former Lok Sabha Secretary General PDT Acharya, since the members of the new House have not been allotted seats yet, the electronic display system cannot be used. The proposals presented will be placed one by one in the order in which they have been received. If necessary, they will be decided through a division of votes.

If the proposal for the name of the Speaker is passed (accepted by the House by voice vote), then the presiding officer will declare that the member has been elected the Speaker of the House and there will be no voting on the subsequent proposal. If the opposition insists on the division of votes, then votes will be cast on paper slips. It will take some time for the result to come.