Om Birla, who was the Speaker in the previous Lok Sabha, has been nominated again as NDA's candidate for Lok Sabha Speaker on Tuesday. The former speaker also filed his nomination for the same. However, there was no official word on such a prospect. The NDA leaders also signed a motion paper in favour of Om Birla for the Speaker of the 18th Lok Sabha. The NDA has 293 MPs while the opposition INDIA bloc has 234 MPs in the 543-member Lok Sabha. A few independent MPs have announced their support to the Congress but the ruling alliance has a clear majority in the House.
Several opposition leaders said they will take a call on whether their alliance will name its candidate for the Speaker's post and force a contest depending on the NDA's stand. On a day when the opposition leaders refused to be a part of the panel to assist the pro-tem speaker, the RSP MP, a part of the INDIA bloc, said the practice is that the government holds discussions with parties to build consensus on the candidate for the Speaker's post.
The opposition stayed away from the panel after seven-term MP Bhartruhari Mahtab from the BJP was made the pro-tem speaker, skipping K Suresh of the Congress who is serving his eighth term in the Lower House.
