Om Birla elected as Speaker for 18th Lok Sabha by voice vote

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NEW DELHI: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led NDA pick Om Birla on Wednesday was elected as Speaker for the 18th Lok Sabha by voice vote.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had moved the motion to elect Om Birla as Lok Sabha Speaker. The motion was seconded by Union minister Rajnath Singh and JD(U) leader Lalan Singh.

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The Speaker election was mandated after the NDA and INDIA bloc failed to reach a consensus over the Speaker candidate.

The opposition INDIA bloc had fielded K Suresh against Om Birla, who will now serve as Speaker for the second term. NCP (SP) leader and Baramati MP Supriya Sule, among other INDIA bloc leaders, had moved the motion in support of K Suresh.

Birla, MP from Rajasthan’s Kota, was renominated by the NDA for the Speaker post on Tuesday.

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On June 19, 2019, Om Birla, was elected the Speaker of the 17th Lok Sabha for the first time.

Starting his political journey as a student leader, Birla was also elected to the Rajasthan Assembly for three consecutive terms in 2003, 2008 and 2013.

He won his first Lok Sabha election in 2014 and was again elected this year from Rajasthan’s Kota-Bundi seat. Birla defeated Congress’s Ramnarayan Meena with a margin of over 2.5 lakh votes in the recently-concluded general election.

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A conscientious parliamentarian, Birla has registered an 86-per cent average attendance in the House, asked 671 questions, participated in 163 debates and introduced six private members’ bills in the 16th Lok Sabha.

From 1991 to 2003, he was a key leader in the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) as a state-level president first and then, as a vice-president at the national level. Birla, who holds a Masters degree in commerce, is a member of the Standing Committee on Energy in Parliament, the Committee on Petitions and the Consultative Committee for the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.

In 2019, he succeeded eight-time MP Sumitra Mahajan as the Lok Sabha Speaker, a post traditionally held by senior MPs.