Balayogi, Sayeed consensus nominees
Tribune News Service

NEW DELHI, Oct 20 — The choice for the posts of Lok Sabha Speaker and Deputy Speaker became clear today with the National Democratic Alliance-backed Telegu Desam nominee, Mr G.M.C. Balayogi, and a veteran Congress leader, Mr P.M. Sayeed, emerging as the consensus candidates.

Recognising the need for having a consensus both on the posts of Speaker and Deputy Speaker, the NDA and the Opposition got together to agree on Mr Balayogi and Mr Sayeed for the two posts, respectively.

While the election to the post of the Speaker is slated for October 22, the schedule for election of Deputy Speaker would be finalised by the Speaker.It is expected to be completed in this session of the new Lok Sabha, which is due to hold its sitting till October 29.

The Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, proposed the name of Mr Balayogi for the Speakership, which was seconded by the leader of the Opposition, Ms Sonia Gandhi, and leaders of the other parties. With the deadline for the nomination to the Speaker’s post expiring tomorrow, the need for consensus was felt by both the ruling NDA and the opposition parties.

More than a dozen resolutions backing Mr Balayogi’s candidature have already been tabled.

The first set has been proposed by Mr Vajpayee and seconded, among others, by Ms Sonia Gandhi, Mr L.K. Advani, Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav, Mr Murasoli Maran, Mr George Fernandes, Mr Somnath Chatterjee, Mr K Yerran Naidu, Ms Mayawati, Mr Krishna Pradhan, Mr Sharad Pawar, Mr Manikayan and Mr Pandeyan.

Apparently, the consensus for both the posts could be arrived at after a dialogue between Mr Advani and Ms Gandhi during the swearing-in ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan. Mr Advani, according to reports, offered the post of Deputy Speaker to the Opposition and urged Ms Gandhi to agree upon a consensus on the post of the Speaker. Ms Gandhi accepted the offer, sources said.

Incidentally, the election for the posts of Speaker and Deputy Speaker are due to pass off without any hitch or drama unlike the one witnessed during the 12th Lok Sabha.

Then, while Mr Balayogi had defeated the Congress nominee Mr P.A. Sangma in a closely fought election, Mr Sayeed became the Deputy Speaker after prolonged deliberation and successive postponements as there was consensus between the ruling coalition and the Opposition.

Both Mr Balayogi and Mr Sayeed will be getting a second term in the posts.

The Congress spokesman, Mr Ajit Jogi, while welcoming the decision said that the Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Mr Pramod Mahajan told the party that the government had decided to honour the healthy tradition of leaving the Deputy Speaker’s post for the main party in the Opposition.

A host of leaders belonging to the NDA constituents and Opposition groups affixed their signatures on different sets of resolutions to be moved on Friday. As the Speaker’s election was notified, the government swung into action seeking consent of all major groups in the Lok Sabha, including the main Opposition party, the Congress. The signatures were collected in the Lok Sabha, which met today to transact the business of oath-taking by the newly-elected members.

Earlier, minutes before the House was to meet for the first time, Mr Balayogi went around shaking hands with leaders in the front row and exchanged pleasantries with Ms Gandhi.