Mumbai, June 25: The Indian Parliament is set to witness a rare contest for the Lok Sabha Speaker’s post after the NDA-led government and opposition Alliance INDIA failed to reach a breakthrough on Tuesday, June 25. The INDIA bloc, which demanded commitment from the government on choosing a Deputy Speaker from the Opposition ranks - as per convention - went ahead and announced its candidate for Speaker after the government showed reclusiveness on the issue.

Following this, the NDA renominated BJP MP Om Birla, who was the Speaker in the 17th Lok Sabha, for the post, while the INDIA bloc fielded eight-time Congress MP Kodilkunnil Suresh. The election for the post is scheduled for Wednesday, June 26. Newly elected MPs will cast their votes for the Lok Sabha Speaker Election 2024. But there's a catch. Only those MPs who have taken oath can participate in House proceedings. So the MPs who failed to take oath can participate in tomorrow's election for the post of Lok Sabha speaker? What does the rule book say on the issue? Who Is Om Birla? Who Is K Suresh? Know All About the BJP-Led NDA and INDIA Bloc's Candidates for the First Lok Sabha Speaker Election Since Independence.

Who Could Not Take Oath As Lok Sabha MP?

It is learnt that seven MPs out of 543 have yet to take oath as Lok Sabha members. Barring five MPs, all MPs took oath in the last two days of the first session of the 18th Lok Sabha. Shashi Tharoor of Congress, Shatrughan Sinha, Deepak Adhikari, and Nurul Islam of TMC, and Afzal Ansari of SP were barred from taking an oath, while the two others—radical preacher Amritpal Singh and Baramulla MP Engineer Rashid—are lodged in jail and failed to attend the oath-taking ceremony.

What Does Rule Book Say?

An MP has to take an oath as prescribed in the Constitution (Article 99) to get the authority to debate and vote in the Lok Sabha. Just winning the election and starting the term does not automatically enable him to participate in the House proceedings. As per the Constitution, if an MP participates or votes in House proceedings by taking an oath, he will have to pay a penalty of Rs 500. It must be noted that MPs who take oath by 11 am tomorrow can participate in Lok Sabha Speaker Election. However, they won't be able to vote if they don't take oath before 11 am. Lok Sabha Speaker Election 2024: Rahul Gandhi Says Will Support NDA Candidate If Deputy Speaker Post Is Given to Opposition (Watch Video).

According to the reports, over 10 nominations were filed in support of Om Birla's candidature, including from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Ministers Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh and JP Nadda, and BJP allies like TDP, JD(U), JD(S) and LJP (R). Three nominations were filed supporting Dalit leader and Congress leader K Suresh. This is the third time Lok Sabha Speaker election will be held in post-Independence India. Before this, Lok Sabha Speaker elections were held in 1976 and 1952.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 25, 2024 09:33 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).