As a new 18th Loke Sabha gets underway, BJP may continue to occupy the Chair, while a possible Deputy Chair may be appointed from the NDA.
BJP veteran and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh holds the assignment of formally establishing the communication between the NDA allies and arriving at a mutual understanding on the distribution of significant positions in the parliament with majors of JD-U and TDP.
The new session of the Lok Sabha will open on June 26 for the election of the Speaker, and the BJP, which emerged as the single-largest party with 240 seats in the latest general election, wants its pick to remain in the chair. Nevertheless, the party is also mindful of its partners in the NDA alliance hence the call to consider the interest of its allies in the coalition.
The TDP has given a clear signal that the decision regarding the Speaker’s candidate can only be mutual. At the same time, the JD(U) has communicated its willingness to support BJP’s candidate and declared that its MP would support the official BJP candidate. According to one of JD(UT) leaders, KC Tyagi, ‘The Speaker is always from the ruling party as it has more numbers in the house.’
The shift that may have likely been taken by the BJP leadership to offer the post of Deputy to the Speaker to its allies in the NDA is viewed strategically in its efforts to ensure unity within the NDA fold. The INDIA bloc, which is the key live wire of the opposition, has also hinted that they might vote for their independent candidate should the Deputy Speaker not be awarded to them.
While the political parties are involved in hectic persuasion, the Lok Sabha secretariat has provided the setting for the election, and the due date is June 25 for filing motions to support the candidate a day before the voting took place.
The new ‘Speaker’ of Lok Sabha shall necessarily function as a catalyst in ensuring that uninterrupted business takes place meaningfully within the new Lok Sabha adequately and appropriately.
