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With the deadline to file the nomination for the post of Lok Sabha speaker being 12 pm Tuesday, the battle between the NDA and the opposition has drawn out. If the INDIA bloc announces its candidate for the post, it will be the first time that elections will be held for the Speaker of the lower house.
Since independence, the Lok Sabha speaker and deputy speaker have been elected by consensus between the ruling party and the opposition. Although the BJP leaders remained tight-lipped about their nominee for the post, there are speculations that Om Birla, the speaker in the 17th Lok Sabha, could also be in the race again. However, Bhartruhari Mahtab, the current pro-term speaker of the 18th Lok Sabha, is also being seen as a contender for the post. The nomination process is likely to be held today and the elections will be held on Wednesday, i.e., on June 26. Amid the row over the appointment of Bhartruhari Mahtab as pro-tem speaker, INDIA bloc leaders on Monday carried out a protest holding copies of the Constitution inside the Parliament premises in the national capital. Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, party leader Rahul Gandhi, and party chief Mallikarjun Kharge took part in the protest. The position of Deputy Speaker that remained vacant in the last term is traditionally given to the Opposition. The BJP offered the post to its ally, AIADMK's Thambi Dhurai, in 2014. It will be interesting to see if the INDIA bloc, which is short of numbers in the lower house, will assert itself for the Deputy Speaker's post in the 18th Lok Sabha. The Revolutionary Socialist Party's Lok Sabha MP, NK Premachandran, said that the INDIA bloc will field candidates for the Lok Sabha Speaker and Deputy Speaker elections. "Definitely, we will contest the Speaker post as well as the Deputy Speaker post. Let the government come out with their opinion on whether they are going to discuss with the opposition parties so as to have a consensus on the Speaker and Deputy Speaker, and then we will think of it. Otherwise, we will definitely contest," Premchandran told ANI outside the Parliament. The swearing-in ceremony marked the commencement of the 18th Lok Sabha's first session, which began with the oath-taking of the new MPs. The Lok Sabha Speaker will be elected on June 26. On June 27, President Murmu is scheduled to address a joint sitting of both houses of Parliament. The NDA, which has 293 MPs in the 543-member Lok Sabha, enjoys a clear majority, with the opposition I.N.D.I.A. bloc having 234 MPs. (ANI)
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