Historic Showdown: Congress’ Kodikunnil Suresh vs BJP’s Om Birla for Lok Sabha Speaker
The Congress has nominated Kodikunnil Suresh as its candidate for the Lok Sabha Speaker post, running against BJP’s Om Birla. This election marks the first time in decades that a vote will be held for this position due to the lack of consensus between the BJP-led NDA government and the Congress-led INDIA bloc opposition. Traditionally, the Speaker and Deputy Speaker are elected through consensus, but indecision has prompted this election, a rare event with only three historical precedents in 1952, 1967, and 1976.
BJP’s Birla appears to have an advantage, supported by at least 293 MPs, while the INDIA bloc has 233 members. Three independent MPs are expected to support the Opposition. However, the Trinamool Congress (TMC), part of the INDIA bloc, has expressed disappointment over not being consulted about Suresh’s nomination.
Kodikunnil Suresh is a Congress MP and the chief whip of the Congress Parliamentary Party in the Lok Sabha. Born in Kodikunnil, Thiruvananthapuram, Suresh was first elected to the Lok Sabha in 1989 and won consecutively in 1991, 1996, and 1999 from the Adoor constituency. After defeats in 1998 and 2004, he won the Mavelikara seat in 2009, a victory initially voided by the Kerala High Court over a caste certificate issue, but later reinstated by the Supreme Court. Suresh has served as a union minister of state for labour and employment and as the secretary of the All India Congress Committee (AICC).
