Indian Lok Sabha election: NDA bets on continuity, Opposition steps up competition – India News

Bharatiya Janata Party lawmaker Om Birla has emerged as the ruling NDA’s front-runner for Lok Sabha speaker, but the opposition Indian Alliance has fielded K. Suresh, the Kerala state legislature leader and eight-time MP, to compete for the speaker’s post. Both Birla and Suresh have nominated their candidates in the Lok Sabha secretariat, setting the stage for independent India’s first ever contest for Lok Sabha speaker.

The NDA’s choice was a reflection of the BJPAs with the selection of ministers, the Indian government has sought to project continuity in power. Most of the key ministers from Modi 3.0 have also retained their posts. The retention of Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla is an attempt to project the same sentiment to mask growing criticism of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) following its poor performance in the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections.

Meanwhile, the opposition parties pressed ahead with the election campaign, knowing full well that they did not have the necessary numbers to elect their nominated candidate as Speaker. After the Central government rejected the Indian government’s proposal, it nominated K Suresh as its chairman candidate. The alliance made the proviso that it would support the NDA’s candidate for chairman if the vice-chairman post was retained by the alliance.

Notably, the opposition’s move came after the Bharatiya Janata Party refused to accept the opposition’s demand to appoint K Suresh as Deputy Speaker of the Rajya Sabha. “I have called Mallikarjun Kharge and sought his support for the Speaker. All Opposition parties have said they will support the Speaker but as per convention, the post of Deputy Speaker should be given to the Opposition. Rajnath Singh said he will recall Mallikarjun Kharge but he is yet to do so… PM Modi is asking the Opposition to cooperate but our leader is being insulted,” said Rahul Gandhi, MP of the Indian National Congress party. He spoke to the media today.

The BJP, meanwhile, accused the Indian National Congress of breaking tradition and trying to force a contest by imposing conditions on the Parliament. “They said they would first decide on the name of the Deputy Speaker and then support the Speaker candidate. We condemn such politics. It would have been a good tradition to select the Speaker unanimously. The Speaker does not belong to any party or to the Opposition but to the entire Parliament. Similarly, the Deputy Speaker also does not belong to any party but to the entire Parliament and hence requires the consent of the Parliament. The condition that only a particular person or a person from a particular party can be the Deputy Speaker does not suit any tradition of the Indian Lok Sabha,” Union Minister Piyush Goyal said.

Earlier this week, the NDA had directed senior BJP leader and Union Minister Rajnath Singh to negotiate with the opposition parties and reach an agreement on the NDA’s candidate. Initial reports had suggested that the NDA had succeeded in getting the opposition’s approval for the Speaker post. However, it was unwilling to accept conditions for the appointment of its own chosen Vice-Chairman, leading to the current impasse.

Chairman Election It is scheduled to be held in Lok Sabha on June 26 at 11 am.