BJP MP Om Birla Elected Speaker of 18th Lok Sabha

June 27, 2024

BJP MP Om Birla was elected as the speaker of 18th Lok Sabha. He defeated the Congress MP Kodikunnil Suresh in a voice vote.

The Speaker and Deputy Speaker are traditionally appointed with consensus between ruling and opposition parties. The speaker being usually from the ruling party and the deputy speaker from a party other than the ruling party, a tradition followed from 1990 to 2014. The deputy speaker post has been vacant since May 2019. Uncertainties over Deputy Speaker's position in the 18th Lok Sabha prompted the opposition to field Kodikunnil Suresh against Om Birla.