Upending Tradition: A Historic Speaker Election In Lok Sabha

The 18th Lok Sabha is set to witness a historic move — an election for the position of Speaker of the House, a rare occurrence in the history of the Indian Parliament.

The Indian National Congress' candidate K Suresh filed an 11th hour nomination for the office on Wednesday, negating the chances of Om Birla—Speaker of the 17th Lok Sabha Speaker and Bharatiya Janata Party leader—being chosen unopposed.

The surprise nomination has forced a deviation from convention, as the post of Speaker had always been filled by consensus between the ruling bloc and the opposition. The Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance, or I.N.D.I.A. bloc, had no qualms with the nomination of Om Birla, the Speaker of the 17th Lok Sabha, granted the opposition was offered the post of Deputy Speaker of the House.

However, in a surprising turn of events, the I.N.D.I.A. bloc opted to field its own nominee for the position of Speaker, thus challenging the convention established by previous governments.

If a decision such as electing a Speaker, which has always been unanimous, is going to be challenged on day two of the operations of the new government, then the state of affairs over the next four years is certainly going to be interesting to witness.

WHO AND WHAT: Essentially, the Speaker of the House is the highest authority of the Lok Sabha and presides over all gatherings of the house. He or she is generally elected in the first session of every Lok Sabha post-formation and has always been a member nominated by the ruling party and unanimously agreed upon by the opposition.

While his primary responsibility is to maintain decorum during proceedings in Parliament, the Speaker has donned multiple crucial hats over his tenure. He decides the agenda for parliamentary convenings and has the right to allow motions to be passed in the house. He is also the sole entity who interprets and passes the rules of the House and cannot be challenged. The Speaker is in charge of disciplining offenders in the house. Customarily, he gets the casting vote in the event of a tie.

WHEN AND HOW: The position of Speaker is initially filled by a pro-tem Speaker, who is appointed by the President to administer the oaths of office to the Members of Parliament. The pro-tem Speaker of the 18th Lok Sabha, BJP MP Bhartruhari Mahtab, was appointed on June 24.

Nominations are subsequently filed for the position in an upcoming session of the lower house, and Om Birla was expected to be the sole nominee in the session conducted on June 25. The members then elect the speaker through a simple election.

The position of the speaker is one that does not have a fixed tenure and is usually subject to the pleasure of the house. He can also be removed on a resolution passed by a simple majority of the house at any time.