BJP MP Bhartruhari Mahtab appointed Lok Sabha pro-tem Speaker

New Delhi: Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and lawmaker Bhartruhari Mahtab from Odisha, who won the recently concluded Lok Sabha election for the seventh time, was on Wednesday appointed as the pro-tem Speaker by the President of India.

President Droupadi Murmu appoints BJP's Bhartruhari Mahtab as Lok Sabha protem speaker

Taking to X, parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju informed, “President is pleased to appoint Shri Bhartruhari Mahtab, Member, Lok Sabha as Speaker Protem under Article 95(1) of the Constitution to perform the duties of Speaker till the election of the Speaker.”

A former Biju Janata Dal MLA for six terms from Cuttack, Mahtab had joined the BJP this year and retained his seat.

Mahtab will take oath in front of President Murmu before he assumes the charge of pro-tem Speaker. Some observers link Mahtab’s selection by the BJP with the electoral success of the party in the polls in Odisha after the BJP made its government in the state for the first time.

“President is also pleased to appoint Shri Suresh Kodikunnil, Shri Thalikkottai Rajuthevar Baalu, Shri Radha Mohan Singh, Shri Faggan Singh Kulaste and Shri Sudip Bandyopadhyay, Members of Lok Sabha under Article 99 of the Constitution to assist Speaker Protem in Oath/Affirmation to newly elected Members of 18th Lok Sabha till election of the Speaker,” Rijiju posted on X.

Mahtab’s role as pro-tem Speaker would be limited to overseeing the oath-taking of all MPs. Without taking the oath, no MP can participate in any activity in the House.

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh argued that while Mahtab is a non-controversial and experienced lawmaker, Kondikunal Suresh of the Congress is the senior most MP serving his eighth term.

Who is Bhartruhari Mahtab, Lok Sabha's new pro-tem Speaker?

“By convention, the MP who has served the maximum terms is appointed Speaker pro-tem for the first two days when the oath is administered to all newly elected MPs. The senior most MPs in the 18th Lok Sabha are Kodikunnil Suresh (Congress) and Virendra Kumar (BJP), both of who are now serving their 8th term. The latter is now a Union minister and hence it was expected that Kodikunnil Suresh would be the Speaker pro-tem. Instead, a seven-term MP, Bhartruhari Mahtab, has been appointed Speaker pro-tem”, Ramesh said.

The 18th Lok Sabha will hold its first session from June 24 to July 3. The oath-taking of the MPs will be done on June 24 and 25, during which the new Speaker of the House will be elected. President Droupadi Murmu will address the joint sitting of both Houses.