Om Birla elected as Lok Sabha Speaker, defeats Cong's K Suresh by voice vote

BJP MP Om Birla was elected as the Speaker of the Lok Sabha for the second time in a row after the NDA candidate won the election by a voice vote on Wednesday.

Pro-tem Speaker B Mahtab made the announcement after the opposition, which had proposed Congress MP Kodikunnil Suresh as its candidate, did not press for votes to the motion moved by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"I announce Om Birla elected as the speaker," Mahtab said.

Meanwhile, the election also saw a moment of rare bonhomie between the treasury and Opposition benches as Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi walked up to Birla to congratulated him and also shook hands with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

After that, PM Modi, Rahul Gandhi and Rijiju escorted Birla to the chair where Mahtab welcomed him saying, "It is your chair, please occupy."

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"It is a matter of honour that you have been elected to this chair for second time," the prime minister said.

"I congratulate you on behalf of entire House and look forward to your guidance for next five years," he said.

In his address, PM Modi said Birla's work as a parliamentarian should be an inspiration for new Lok Sabha members.

"Your sweet smile keeps the entire House happy," the prime minister added.

The Lok Sabha Speaker is generally chosen with consensus. However, this was only the third election for the Lok Sabha Speaker after Independence.

The voting took place after the Congress forced a contest and fielded its eight-time MP K Suresh as a challenger. The numbers, however, were clearly on Birla's side. While the NDA candidate had the support of 297 MPs, the Opposition pick had 232.

With inputs from agencies