Parliament Session 2024 Live Updates: Om Birla vs Opposition's K Suresh for Lok Sabha Speaker's election today
Parliament Session 2024 Live: The ruling BJP-led NDA on Tuesday maintained its streak of continuity in its third term by fielding previous Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla for the crucial parliamentary position again, but its bid for a consensus was thwarted by the Opposition, which forced an election by nominating Kodikunnil Suresh as its candidate. The Opposition's last-minute decision to go for a rare contest came after senior BJP leaders did not agree to its precondition that the INDIA bloc must be offered the post of Deputy Speaker in lieu of supporting Birla, who is the clear favourite in case of an election. The scheduled day for picking the Speaker is Wednesday. With the NDA having 293 MPs in its kitty and the INDIA bloc 233, numbers clearly favour Birla in Lok Sabha. At least three independent members also support the Opposition.
