Ahead of the upcoming Parliament Session, a crucial meeting of ministers is scheduled to take place at Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s residence on Tuesday evening, according to reliable sources. This meeting, slated just before the commencement of the first Parliament session following the 2024 general elections on June 24, aims to strategize better floor coordination among the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) partners. A significant agenda item will be the election for the post of Lok Sabha Speaker during this session.
Rajnath Singh has been tasked with the responsibility of fostering consensus among alliance parties and engaging with opposition parties to facilitate the election of the Speaker. The opposition INDIA bloc is contemplating fielding their candidate for the Speaker’s post, should they not secure the Deputy Speaker’s position, which is traditionally their prerogative.
The election for the Lok Sabha Speaker is slated for June 26. Currently, Om Birla from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) holds this prestigious position, having been elected as the Speaker of the 17th Lok Sabha in June 2019 following a motion moved by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In the recent Lok Sabha elections, Birla contested from Kota and secured the Parliamentary seat with a significant margin of over 41,139 votes.
The Janata Dal (United) led by Nitish Kumar has pledged its support to the BJP’s candidate for the Speaker’s post, underscoring the unity within the NDA alliance. Both JD(U) and the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) are integral parts of the BJP-led coalition and have affirmed their backing for the BJP’s nominee.
The inaugural session of the 18th Lok Sabha will kick off with the oath/affirmation ceremony of newly elected members and is scheduled to conclude on July 3. President Droupadi Murmu will address a joint sitting of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha on June 27, marking a significant ceremonial event in the parliamentary calendar.
The last session of the 17th Lok Sabha, known as the Budget session, was conducted between January 31 and February 10, 2024, setting the stage for the transition to the new parliamentary term.