From Being a Foot Soldier to Speaker's Chair: Who is Om Birla?

New Delhi: Bharatiya Janata Party leader and Kota MP Om Birla was elected as the Lok Sabha speaker for second-time in a row on Wednesday, June 26. Birla was elected as the speaker of the lower house as a motion moved by Prime Minister Narendra Modi was adopted through voice votes.

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

Om Birla occupied the Chair of Lok Sabha Speaker after being elected as the Speaker of the 18th Lok Sabha. He was accompanied by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, LoP Rahul Gandhi and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju.

PM Modi Congratulates Birla 

Congratulating Om Birla on his re-election, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that his tenure as the speaker of 17th Lok Sabha will be remembered as a golden period of parliamentary history. "The historical decisions taken in the Parliament under your chairmanship are a legacy of the Parliament and also of you. In future when there will be analysis regarding the 17th Lok Sabha, it will be written that the 17th Lok Sabha under your chairmanship has played a very important role in giving a new direction to the future of India," PM Modi said.

"I congratulate you and the entire House. I want to congratulate you on behalf of the House. It is a huge responsibility for you to sit on this post for the second time during the Amrit Kaal. With your experience, we hope that you will guide us for the next 5 years. 'Aapke chehre par yeh meethi meethi muskaan poore Sadan ko prasann rakhti hai'," he added. 

Who is Om Birla

It came as surprise to many when the BJP named Birla as its speaker nominee after the 2019 general election. A lesser known name of the BJP before 2019, Birla has earlier been an MLA in Rajasthan Assembly thrice and served at various posts in the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM). From 1991 to 2003, he was one of the leader in the BJYM, first as a state level president, and then as a national vice president.  He was elected as a BJP candidate from Kota to the 16th and 17th Lok Sabha. 

In his first term as an MP, Birla had a good track record, with around 86 per cent attendance, 671 questions, and participation in 163 debates.  He won again in 2019 and was made the Speaker.  In 2024, Birla defeated a Congress candidate, his nearest rival from the Kota seat, by a margin of over 41,000 votes, becoming the first Speaker in 20 years to return to the House.  Birla also became the first Speaker ever to serve a full term without the appointment of a deputy speaker. 

Tough Decisions by Birla As LS Speaker

Birla took stringent decisions like expelling MP Mahua Moitra, and suspending 100 MPs in Lok Sabha in the same session that saw a major security breach.   Lauded by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the last sitting of the 17th Lok Sabha for always having a smile on his face, Birla was also credited by him for running the house impartially and with patience.