Is Daggubati Purandeswari, Andhra Pradesh BJP chief, a frontrunner for Lok Sabha Speaker's post?

Daggunati Purandeswari

As the final modalities regarding portfolio allocation are being finalised, Andhra Pradesh BJP chief's ( Daggunati Purandeswari) name is doing the rounds for the post of Speaker in the 18th Lok Sabha. The last two Lok Sabhas, in which the BJP had a majority, had Sumitra Mahajan and Om Birla as the Speaker.

As the numbers of the 18th Lok  Sabha election trickled in, the Bhartiya Janata Party understood that they have to rely on two two close allies- TDP and JD(U) to form the government.

Andhra Pradesh BJP President and Rajahmundry MP Daggunati Purandeswari is one of the frontrunners for the post of Speaker in the 18th Lok Sabha. Quoting sources, various media outlets speculate that the reason for her exclusion from the swearing-in ceremony was possibly to eneable her to be appointed her the Lok Sabha Speaker.

key allies, TDP and JDU, have got two minister posts each -- one cabinet rank and one minister of state post. A key question, however, remains: who gets the Lok Sabha Speaker's post? A pro-tem Speaker, appointed by the President from among the senior members of the House, administers the oath of office to the new MPs.

Why would an NDA ally with so much bargaining power lay emphasis on the Speaker post?

The answer lies in the the anti-defection law prescribed in the 10th Schedule of the Constitution, introduced through the 52nd Amendment in 1985.

A legislator who voluntarily gives up the membership of their political party or votes against the instructions of their party is liable for disqualification.

But the 10th Schedule shields legislators from disqualification if two-thirds of a party’s MPs or MLAs in an elected house ‘merge’ with another party. In such a scenario, it is the Speaker’s discretion that decides whether or not to disqualify the legislators.