Today’s Lok Sabha Speaker election appears to heavily favor the government, as five out of the opposition’s 232 MPs have not yet taken their oaths. This means they cannot participate in the voting process, according to sources. Among those awaiting oath are prominent figures like Congress’s Shashi Tharoor, Trinamool Congress’s Shatrughan Sinha, Deepak Adhikari, Nurul Islam from Trinamool Congress, Afzhal Ansari from Samajwadi Party, and two Independents. The reasons for the delay in their oath-taking remain unspecified at this time.
Afzhal Ansari, brother of Mukhtar Ansari and currently facing a pending legal issue, had his prison term temporarily suspended by the Allahabad High Court for the election period. If his sentence is upheld in July, he could lose his parliamentary membership.
In the context of the Speaker election, the absence of these seven MPs, including Ansari, could impact the opposition’s effective strength, reducing it from 232 to 227 MPs assuming others attend and vote. The majority mark for the election stands at 269.
Meanwhile, the NDA, with 293 MPs, anticipates support from YSR Congress and others despite recent political shifts, while the BJP aims to secure a decisive victory for Om Birla over Opposition candidate K Suresh. Efforts are also underway to secure additional support to surpass 300 seats, marking a significant psychological milestone.
Unlike previous elections, where the BJP relied on alliances like TDP and JD(U) to maintain a majority, a strong showing in the Lok Sabha would bolster morale within the party ranks.
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