Om Birla 2.0: 10 things to know about Om Birla, his second term as Lok Sabha Speaker
PTC News Desk: On Wednesday, Om Birla, the BJP's nominee, was elected to the Lok Sabha Speaker position once more. With the numbers working in the ruling coalition's favor, the NDA nominee was set to hold onto the Speaker position.
Birla is the first speaker of the Lok Sabha to be re-elected to the Lower House in more than 20 years.
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Here are 10 points about Birla
• Om Birla retained the Kota Lok Sabha seat in Rajasthan, defeating Congress's Prahlad Gunjal by over 41,000 votes. He is the first Lok Sabha Speaker in 20 years to be re-elected to the Lower House.
• Born on November 23, 1962, in Kota, Birla began his political journey as a student leader. He has also served three consecutive terms in the Rajasthan Assembly in 2003, 2008, and 2013.
• During his tenure, Parliament navigated through the challenges of Covid-19 and passed significant legislation, including the women’s reservation bill and the repeal of Article 370.
• A prominent figure in the BJP’s state unit, Birla has a background in managing cooperative societies in Rajasthan and Gujarat. He chaired the Rajasthan Rajya Sahakari Upbhokta Sangh from 1992 to 1995 and was vice-president of the National Cooperative Consumers’ Federation of India in New Delhi.
• Om Birla played a pivotal role in the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha for 12 years, serving as state president initially and then as national vice-president.
• Birla's association with BJP leaders Amit Shah and Narendra Modi dates back to before Modi became Gujarat's Chief Minister. During his 2019 Lok Sabha campaign, Birla sought votes in the Prime Minister’s name.
• He succeeded eight-term MP Sumitra Mahajan as Speaker, a position typically held by senior MPs.
• Under his leadership, a record 2,910 members participated in legislative processes — the highest in the last four Lok Sabhas. The Parliament Library, India’s second-largest, was opened to the public on August 17, 2022, and rare parliamentary footage was made accessible.
• Birla pioneered the provision of MPs' speech clippings for social media circulation, a first for any Speaker.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi proposed Birla's candidacy, which received support from major opposition parties including Congress, TMC, DMK, and BJD, as well as from the YSRCP and TDP.
Also Read: Om Birla wins Lok Sabha Speaker election, defeats INDIA Bloc's K Suresh
- With inputs from agencies
