Kingmakers JD-U, TDP differ as BJP wants to 'retain' Speaker post

New Delhi: Days after the Opposition insisted that the Lok Sabha Speaker's post must be allocated to BJP's National Democratic Alliance (NDA) partners, the Janata Dal (United) and the Telugu Desam Party appear to have different opinions on the vexed topic.

While Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal (United) said it will back BJP's decision, N Chandrababu Naidu's TDP said the partners of the ruling alliance must finalise a consensus candidate.

The BJP won 240 seats in the Lok Sabha – 32 short of the majority mark. With 16 and 12 Lok Sabha seats, Chandrababu Naidu and Nitish Kumar emerged as the kingmakers as they became indispensable for the formation of Narendra Modi's third government.

Meanwhile, the INDIA bloc weighing options to field a candidate for the post of Speaker, if the Deputy Speaker’s post is not given to the Opposition, according to sources.

The Lok Sabha will elect its new Speaker on June 26 for which notices for motions supporting candidates can be submitted till noon a day prior, according to the Lok Sabha secretariat.

The sources, however, indicate that BJP may ‘retain’ the post of Speaker, with a party MP likely to be elected for the role. Dismissing media reports suggesting that the NDA partners –JD(U) and TDP – had demanded the Lok Sabha Speaker’s post, a senior BJP leader said the matter would be first considered internally before discussing it with the allies to reach a consensus.

However, JD(U) and TDP do not appear to have a consensus on the topic. While TDP wants that the NDA partners must finalise a consensus candidate, Janata Dal (United) said it would back the BJP’s decision. JD(U) leader KC Tyagi has said his party and TDP are part of the NDA and will support the candidate nominated by the BJP for the post of Lok Sabha Speaker. “The Speaker is always of the ruling party because its number is also the highest (among alliance parties),” Tyagi said.

On the other hand, TDP national spokesperson Pattabhi Ram Kommareddy told reporters that the candidate must be jointly decided by the NDA partners. “The NDA partners will sit together and decide who our candidate for the Speaker is going to be. Once a consensus is reached, we will field that candidate and all partners, including the TDP, will support the candidate,” Kommareddy said.

During the first session of the 18th Lok Sabha, starting on June 24, the BJP will reach out to the Opposition parties to ensure that the Speaker is elected unanimously. If the Opposition agrees to the government’s proposal, an election will not be necessary.

However, if the Opposition fields its candidate, a vote for the new Speaker might take place on June 26, with the new Speaker assuming office on the same day.

Earlier, senior Congress leader Ashok Gehlot claimed that if the BJP gets the Speaker’s post, it will start horse-trading of JD(U) and TDP MPs.

In the Modi government’s first term, Sumitra Mahajan, a BJP MP from Indore, Madhya Pradesh, served as Lok Sabha Speaker, while in the second term, Om Birla, a BJP MP from Kota, Rajasthan, held the position.

As the BJP does not hold a majority as it did in 2014 and 2019, speculation was rife that the TDP and JD(U) were vying for the Speaker’s post. If any suggestions or demands regarding the position arise from the NDA allies, the BJP will consider a new formula.