Om Birla elected as the speaker of the 18th Lok Sabha

Om Birla, a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidate, was re-elected speaker of the 18th Lok Sabha on 26 June 2024. He was elected by voice vote after the opposition party did not press for the counting of votes.

Om Birla was also the speaker of the 17th Lok Sabha. Om Birla is the 17th person to be elected as the Speaker of the Lok Sabha.

Election for Speaker of 18th Lok Sabha 

By convention, the Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha are chosen by consensus between the ruling and opposition parties. However, this time, the ruling NDA and the Congress Party-led INDIA block failed to reach a consensus. The Congress party wanted to support an NDA candidate for the Speaker post only if the ruling party agreed to the Deputy Speaker from the opposition party.

The NDA government, led by Narendra Modi, declined to accept the opposition's demand. The Opposition candidate was K.Suresh of the Congress Party. He is an eight-time Lok Sabha member from Kerala who currently represents the Mavelikara constituency.

This is the third time that an election to elect the Speaker of the Lok Sabha has been held in the Lok Sabha. 

Past Instances of Election of Lok Sabha Speaker 

• The first time election for the post of Lok Sabha Speaker was held in 1952 to elect the first Lok Sabha Speaker. The ruling Congress party candidate was Ganesh Vasudev Mavlankar, and the opposition candidate was Shantaram More. Mavlankar defeated Shantaram More by 394 to 55 votes. The first Lok Sabha had 489 members.
• The second time the contest for the Lok Sabha speaker post was held in 1967 during the fourth Lok Sabha. The ruling Congress Party candidate, Neelam Sanjiva  Reddy, defeated opposition candidate Tenneti Viswanathan. Neelam Sanjiva Reddy secured g 278 votes to 207 of Tenneti Viswanathan.
• The third election for the Lok Sabha speaker was held during the fifth Lok Sabha. The fifth Lok Sabha duration was to end in 1976 but it was extended by one year till 1977 following the imposition of national emergency in the country by Indira Gandhi in 1975 under Article 352 of the constitution. The Parliament has the power to extend the life of the Lok Sabha by one year when the national emergency is in force under Article 352. 
• The incumbent Lok Sabha speaker, Gurdial Singh Dhillon, resigned after being made a minister in the Indira Gandhi government. To fill the vacant post of Speaker, the ruling party put up Baliram Bhagat as its candidate, while the opposition candidate was Jagannath Rao Joshi. Baliram Bhagat was elected Speaker after polling 344 votes to Jagannath Rao Joshi's 58 votes.

About Om Birla 

A three-time member of Lok Sabha, Om Birla was elected from the Kota constituency of Rajasthan in the 2014,2019 and 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

He became the Speaker of the 17th Lok Sabha in 2019 and has been reelected for the second time as the speaker of the Lok Sabha,

He is the fifth person to hold the office of Lok Sabha speaker twice. 

Speakers of the Lok Sabha 

According to Article 93 of the constitution, members of the Lok Sabha are to elect a Speaker and a Deputy Speaker from among the members of the House. The Speaker and Deputy Speaker are elected by a simple majority. 

A simple majority means the majority of the members in the house are present at the time of voting.

List of Lok Sabha Speakers to Date

The following is the list of the persons who have held the office of the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, their tenure, and the constituency they represented.

Unique Points to Remember about the Lok Sabha Speaker 

• There is no provision of any oath for the office of the Speaker or the Deputy Speaker. 
• Ganesh Vasudev Mavlankar was the first Speaker of the Lok Sabha.
• Five persons have been the Lok Sabha Speaker twice: Dr. Neelam Sanjiva Reddy, Gurdial Singh Dhillon, Balram Jakhar, G.M.C Balayogi, and Om Birla.
• The first person to be unanimously elected as the Speaker was Madabhushi Ananthasayanam Ayyangar.
• Purno Sangma was the first opposition party candidate to be elected speaker of the Lok Sabha. He belonged to the Congress party in 1996, and the United Front government led by Janata Dal was in power.
• G.M.C Balayogi of the Telugu Desam Party is the youngest and first Dalit person to become the Speaker of the Lok Sabha.
• K.S. Hedge was the first and only former Supreme Court Judge to hold the Lok Sabha Speaker post.
• Dr Neelam Sanjiva Reddy is the only Speaker who resigned from his party after becoming Lok Sabha Speaker in 1977. He belonged to the Janata party.
• Dr Neelam Sanjiva Reddy is the only Lok Sabha Speaker to be elected as the President of India.
• Meira  Kumar of the Congress (Indira) party is the first woman to be the Speaker of the Lok Sabha.
• Longest tenure as a Speaker: Balram Jakhar over 9 years
• Shortest tenure as Speaker: Neelam Sanjiva Reddy, around 109 days in 1977.