Opinion | Confrontation Versus Consensus — Message From Speaker’s Election

PM Narendra Modi and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi congratulate Om Birla on his election as Speaker. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju is also seen in the photo.

Om Birla has been elected the new Speaker of the 18th Lok Sabha with a voice vote. The Opposition had also put up a candidate, forcing a rare election for the post after five decades. However, they did not press strongly for a division of votes. The numbers did not matter much as the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) clearly has the majority with 292 MPs.  The contest was thus symbolic, with the Opposition forcing a poll as it didn’t get the commitment from the Treasury benches that