Why Is The Lok Sabha Speaker Post Crucial For BJP and Its Allies?

As per the constitution, the Speaker's seat is vacant in the first sitting of the new Lok Sabha. First, a senior-most MP is appointed Speaker pro tem by the President. He administers the oath to the new MPs. Thereafter, the new Speaker is elected by a simple majority vote.

Why Is The Lok Sabha Speaker Post Crucial For BJP and Its Allies?

New Delhi: The first and second Narendra Modi governments were sworn in ten and seven days respectively after the poll results. This time, the BJP is a long way from a single majority. As a result, BJP's top leadership had to hold several rounds of talks with partner parties, especially the two major partners, N. Chandrababu Naidu's TDP and Nitish Kumar's JDU, to reach a consensus on ministerial posts. However, this time the full cabinet of 72 ministers took oath just four days after the results were announced. According to political circles, Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not want to delay, realizing that if the government took more time, the partners would go to the extreme and it would cause problems in the formation of the government. But an important question remains – who gets the post of Speaker of the Lok Sabha? Multiple media outlets have claimed that both the TDP and JDU, which have emerged as the 'kingmakers' in this election, are eyeing the post. However, according to BJP sources, they are not willing to leave the post of Speaker in the hands of partners. According to sources, Andhra Pradesh BJP chief Daggubati Purandeswari's name is being discussed for the post of Speaker.

As per the constitution, the Speaker's seat is vacant in the first sitting of the new Lok Sabha. First, a senior-most MP is appointed Speaker pro tem by the President. He administers the oath to the new MPs. Thereafter, the new Speaker is elected by a simple majority vote. The BJP had a numerical majority in the previous two Lok Sabhas. Sumitra Mahajan and Om Birla were elected Speaker respectively. The Speaker conducts the session of the Lok Sabha. Even if elected on behalf of a political party, the person who occupies the post of Speaker will perform the duties impartially above party politics. However, the Speaker has been repeatedly accused of bias in the past, although there are exceptions.

Neelam Sanjiva Reddy left the Congress after being elected Speaker in the fourth Lok Sabha. Although neither P.A. Sangma, Somnath Chatterjee, nor Meira Kumar left their parties, they rose above party politics in running the Lok Sabha and performed their duties impartially. In 2008, the CPM expelled Somnath Chatterjee from the party for taking a neutral stand in the no-confidence vote against the then UPA government. On the other hand, the last Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has been most accused of bias. Opposition MPs were not allowed to speak, opposition MPs were suspended, and opposition MPs were dismissed during his tenure.

Veteran political leaders like N. Chandrababu Naidu and Nitish Kumar want the Speaker's post as a 'bond.' In the past few years, there have been several incidents of insurgency between ruling parties in various states. Parties have broken up, and governments have fallen. In such situations, the Anti-Defection Act comes into play, and this Act gives the Speaker of the House a strong position. The Speaker, acting as Speaker of the House, has absolute powers under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution, as per the 52nd Amendment of 1985, to decide on the disqualification of members due to defection. If an elected member voluntarily leaves his party or votes against the instructions of the party, his membership will be revoked. However, as per the Tenth Schedule, that member will be shielded if two-thirds of the elected members of a party agree with another party. In this situation, the Speaker will decide whether those members will be declared ineligible or not. In fact, Nitish Kumar has in the past accused the BJP of trying to break his party. Therefore, they want the post of Speaker as a shield against any such tactics.

The BJP-led NDA government lost the trust vote in 1999 when TDP MP G.M.C. Balayogi was the Lok Sabha Speaker. Late Balayogi had served as the Speaker during the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government in 1998-1999 when the NDA was a coalition of 19 parties. Thirteen months into the government, J. Jayalalithaa-led AIADMK withdrew support from the Vajpayee government, forcing it to take the floor test. It lost the test by one vote, with Balayogi as Speaker allowing then Congress Chief Minister of Odisha Giridhar Gamang to vote as he had retained his MP seat despite taking the CM’s chair a month ago. Tyagi said, “Those invoking 1998-1999 must understand that in that government there were a dozen parties. That is not the case here."

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