Om Birla of BJP Secures second term as Speaker of Indian Lok Sabha

Om Birla , nominee of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, has been elected as the speaker of India’s 18th Lok Sabha for the second straight term, but not without a contest this time.

The opposition congress party had fielded K Suresh after the two sides failed to reach a consensus till the last minute. This is the second time in the History of Indian Parliament –first time in 1952 when the first Lok Sabha was constituted under its new constitution–that its presiding officer is decided through ballots Prime Minister Narendra Modi and leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi congratulated Birala upon his election and then escorted him up the Speaker’s Chair as per the long and rich parliamentary tradition followed by India.

According to the Indian Media , the consensus eluded the choice of the speaker as the BJP was non-committal about honouring the tradition and giving the Deputy Speaker’s post to the opposition.