Santosh Gangwar to be Protem Speaker of Lok Sabha, will administer oath-of-office to all new MPs

With PM Narendra Modi all set to take the oath for his second term, at the Rashtrapati Bhawan on Thursday, senior BJP leader and Union Minister Santosh Gangwar is to be the Protem Speaker of the Lok Sabha. As the senior-most member of the new Lok Sabha, Gangwar will be administering the oath of office to all new Members of Parliament. 

A pro-tem Speaker performs the duties of a Speaker from the date of commencement of the House.

The Lok Sabha Speaker is regarded as the highest authority in the House and also the custodian of the Parliament building. Santosh Gangwar, who is the current Minister of State with independent charge in the Ministry of Labour and Employment, is the seniormost Parliamentarian from the Bharatiya Janata Party in the 17th Lok Sabha, and has won eight elections from Uttar Pradesh's Bareilly. He was also the chief whip of the party in 14th Lok Sabha. Gangwar has been a Member of Parliament from 1989 for six consecutive terms. While he lost the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, he made a big comeback in 2014 elections. In 2019 Lok Sabha polls, Gangwar won the elections for the eighth time from Bareilly, by defeating SP-BSP-RLD candidate Bhagwat Saran Gangwar.

The first session of the 17th Lok Sabha would commence on June 6 and will go on till June 15, 2019. On Thursday, a day ahead of PM Modi's swearing-in, over 40 ministers are likely to also be administered the oath-of office in a ceremony that will be attended by an estimated 8,000 guests.

READ | Narendra Modi To Take Oath Of Office For Second Term As Prime Minister: LIVE Updates Ahead Of Swearing-in Ceremony Here

Sumitra Mahajan, who is the current Speaker of the Lok Sabha, is an eight-term parliamentarian, who in 2019 Lok Sabha polls announced that she will not fight elections. She was unanimously elected to the post in June 2014 was the second woman Speaker in the Lok Sabha's 67 years.

Furthermore, a new Speaker is likely to be appointed on June 10 with President Ram Nath Kovind likely to address a joint house of Parliament on June 6. 

WATCH: PM Narendra Modi Pays Tribute To Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee At Sadaiv Atal Samadhi Ahead Of Swearing-in Ceremony