New Delhi: After the Lok Sabha elections, the political temperature has risen regarding the election for the post of Lok Sabha Speaker. The election is being conducted under Article 93 of the Constitution. Those who know the intricacies of such elections said that the entire process takes more than an hour.
Former Secretary General of the Lok Sabha Secretariat, Parliament of India, P. D. Thankappan Achary, in an exclusive interview to ETV Bharat said that there will be voting on the Speaker's post due to lack of consensus on the position and the person who wins gets elected. Here's a step-by-step procedure leading to the elections:
Step 1- P. D. T. Achary said that traditionally, the Speaker is elected following a discussion between the government and the opposition. It has been a convention that the Speaker is elected by consensus as he oversees the entire house proceedings. Political parties generally prefer to avoid division over the speaker's post. However, contests have occurred in the past, and this year is no exception.
Step 2- If consensus cannot be reached despite discussions, the opposition may oppose the government's Speaker candidate and propose their own candidate. In such situations, an election takes place, he added.
Step 3- According to the former Secretary General of the Lok Sabha, a similar scenario is unfolding this time. There are two candidates, BJP's Om Birla and Congress's K Suresh, who have filed their nominations, and the election is scheduled for tomorrow. Notices of motion have been submitted on behalf of both the candidates. The pro-tem Speaker will review these motions, and these will need to be moved in the Lok Sabha tomorrow.
Step 4- The pro-tem Speaker will initiate the process by taking the first motion in the Lok Sabha. Once the motion is accepted, the voting process will commence. This process will involve issuing voting slips under the supervision of the Secretary General of the Lok Sabha. While a voice vote could suffice, given the opposition's candidate, voting by slips will be conducted.
