Two-term BJP MP Om Birla set to become Speaker of 17th Lok Sabha
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) parliamentarian Om Birla is set to become the Speaker of the 17th Lok Sabha after Wednesday's election. Birla, 57, is a two term Lok Sabha Member of Parliament. He won from Rajasthan’s Kota-Bundi seat in the just concluded general election. Birla has been a three-term legislator in the Rajasthan Assembly. Not just BJP's allies in the National Democratic Alliance, but parties such as the Biju Janata Dal, YSR Congress and others are also likely to support his candidature. Birla’s nomination by the BJP leadership as the party's candidate for the Speaker’s post suggests that it is rewarding 'humble workers' who have come up through the ranks. With Birla’s nomination, the National Democratic Alliance has departed from the decade-and-a-half old trend of nominating an experienced parliamentarian to the post. In 2004, 10-term Lok Sabha MP Somnath Chatterjee was elected as the Speaker. Five-term Lok Sabha MP Meira Kumar succeeded