With less than a week left for the first session of the 18th Lok Sabha, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance and Congress-led Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) are locked in fresh war or words and claims over the election of speaker and deputy speaker of the lower house. As per the tradition, the Speaker of the Lok Sabha is elected unopposed and the opposition does not field any candidate. Likewise, the post of Deputy Speaker is given to the opposition whenever they propose a name.
However, this time it seems that traditions will be broken due to political rivalries. The INDIA bloc parties including Aam Aadmi Party, Samajwadi Party and Congress want the NDA ally TDP to take up the Speaker’s post. The Congress has even said that if the BJP proposes its MP as the Speaker and not of the TDP, then the INDIA bloc will field its candidate leading to voting. The Congress also sent a feeler to the TDP saying that if the TDP nominates its candidate for the Speaker’s post, then INDIA bloc parties will vote for that candidate.
On the other hand, the BJP is keen on retaining the Lok Sabha speaker’s post while having agreed to give the Deputy Speaker’s post to its allies – TDP or JDU. In Modi’s first tenure between 2014-2019, the Deputy Speaker’s post was with AIADMK’s M. Thambidurai while the post remained vacant between 2019-2024. Since the opposition has got stronger this time bagging 234 seats, it is keen on getting the Deputy Speaker’s post, a demand that the BJP is likely to reject. The TDP has maintained that it will back the BJP candidate for the Speaker’s post and it might get the deputy post.
As far as the numbers in the Lok Sabha are concerned, the BJP-led NDA has the upper hand as the alliance has 293 seats. On the other hand, the Congress-led INDIA bloc has 234 seats. Even if the TDP switches sides, the INDIA bloc will have 250 seats compared to the NDA’s 277 seats. The Congress need support from not only independent MPs but also from the YSCRP and other NDA allies to get the Deputy speaker’s post.