Santosh Gangwar likely to be appointed pro tem Speaker and possibly Speaker

NEW DELHI: Senior-most Lok Sabha member Santosh Gangwar may be appointed as pro-tem Speaker of the 17th Lok Sabha. Though another BJP member Maneka Gandhi shares the distinction with him, the possibility of her becoming minister in the new government leaves room only for Gangwar. Both Gangwar and Maneka have been elected for the eighth term.
In case both are inducted into the Modi cabinet on Friday, Congress MP from Kerala Kodikunnil Suresh may be eligible for the post of pro-tem Speaker like fellow party leader Kamal Nath who was appointed pro-tem Speaker in the 16th Lok Sabha in 2014.
The senior-most MP, irrespective of his/her party affiliation, is appointed as pro-tem (temporary) Speaker who administers oath to the newly elected members and also presides over the first sitting of the House in which the new Speaker is elected.
There is also buzz that Gangwar, MP from Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh, may be made the new Speaker. In that case, the government may have to appoint another pro tem Speaker.
It had happened for the first time in case of Somnath Chatterjee in 14th Lok Sabha in June, 2004. Chatterjee was first appointed as pro-tem Speaker and then was elected as Speaker of the House.
“A list containing names of senior-most MPs (total tenure as well as number of years as member of either Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha) is prepared by the legislative section of Parliament. The list by excluding newly appointed ministers is sent to new parliamentary affairs minister for identifying a member for the post of pro-tem Speaker. That selected member is then appointed by the President,” explained an official.
Besides the BJP members, the list has four other names - Kodikunnil Suresh (Congress), Virendra Kumar (BJP), Mulayam Singh Yadav (Samajwadi Party) and Mohanbhai Delkar (Independent) - who have been elected for a seventh term.
“In case of equal number of terms, the member with highest number of years as MP is considered for the post of pro-tem Speaker,” said the official.
Among the four seventh-term members in the 17th Lok Sabha, Suresh - MP from Mavelikkara constituency in Kerala - has the longest number of years as member.
As far as the post of Speaker is concerned, the government generally prefers senior most member from the ruling party or alliance. However, there have been precedents of appointing even a first-time MP as Lok Sabha Speaker. The Speaker of the 6th Lok Sabha, K S Hegde, and Speaker of the 7th Lok Sabha, Balram Jakhar, were first-time MPs.