The 18th Lok Sabha is poised to elect its Speaker today. The ruling alliance at the Centre, NDA, has nominated Om Birla for the post of Lok Sabha Speaker, while the INDIA bloc has made eight-time MP K Suresh its candidate.
It is believed that K Suresh has a slim chance of getting elected as numbers favor Om Birla.
According to reports, as many as seven opposition MPs will not be able to take part in today's Speaker election as they have not taken their oaths yet.
Opposition MPs yet to take oath include Congress' Shashi Tharoor, TMC's Shatrughan Sinha, Deepak Adhikari, Samajwadi Party's Nurul Islam, and two Independent MPs.
The MPs who have already taken their oaths will be allowed to vote in the Speaker election, which will bring down the opposition's number.
In the general elections, the INDIA bloc won 232 seats. Five of its newly elected MPs are expected to miss the Speaker election. The majority mark to elect the Speaker is 269.
The ruling NDA, with a strength of 293 MPs, is also expected to get support from non-INDIA bloc parties like BJD and YSRCP.
The BJP is also making efforts to convince SAD MPs to vote for Om Birla. The party is in talks with other small parties to ensure Birla's victory with at least 300 votes.
If the BJP succeeds in doing so, it will boost the morale of party workers and leaders.
