Who will be Speaker? Andhra BJP chief Daggubati Purandeswari among probables

Seventy-two ministers in the Narendra Modi 3.0 Cabinet have been sworn in. Now, all eyes are on the Speaker’s position and several names are doing the rounds as possible candidates.

The fact that the BJP did not make it to the majority 272-plus seats on its own and it has to rely on two key allies — Chandrababu Naidu’s Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal United (JDU) — have made things all the more exciting.

Cabinet exclusion sparks rumours

While both allies are reportedly looking to bag the key position, the BJP is reportedly not in a mood to let go of it. One of the key names doing the rounds as a possible contender for the Speaker’s post is the party’s Andhra Pradesh chief, Daggubati Purandeswari.

One of the reasons why some believe the Rajahmundry MP could be a solid contender for the post is her exclusion from the Modi 3.0 Cabinet sworn in on Sunday (June 9). The three-time MP played a key role in the BJP’s alliance with the TDP and Jana Sena in Andhra Pradesh — a move that earned the NDA rich dividends in the 2024 elections.

Why Purandeswari?

The NDA won 164 of the 175 Assembly seats in the state, voting for which was held alongside the Lok Sabha polls. Moreover, the alliance bagged 21 MP seats in Andhra Pradesh, including 16 from the TDP, three from the BJP, and two from the Jana Sena. After BJP, the TDP emerged as the second-largest party in the NDA.

Elevating Purandeswari to the Lok Sabha Speaker’s position has several advantages for the BJP. That way, the TDP will be happy. Purandeswari is the daughter of TDP founder NT Rama Rao and the sister-in-law of Naidu, the TDP chief and Andhra Pradesh chief minister-designate. Naidu’s wife and Purandeswari are sisters.

About Purandeswari

Purandeswari has been elected as an MP from Andhra Pradesh thrice, every time from a different seat. While this time it was Rajahmundry, Purandeswari served as the MP for Bapatla and Visakhapatnam in 2004 and 2009, respectively.

She took over the reins of the Andhra BJP when the party was struggling to find a foothold in the state. Under her charge, the party won eight MLA seats out of the 10 contested and three MP seats out of the six contested. She is an eloquent speaker and enjoys a largely positive image among the various political parties in Andhra as well as different sections of society.

So far, only one person from the state has held the position of Speaker from Andhra — former Amalapuram MP Ganti Mohana Chandra Balayogi.

How the Speaker is elected

The Constitution says that the Speaker’s position falls vacant just before the new Lok Sabha meets for the first time. The President appoints a pro-tem Speaker, who administers the oath of office to the new MPs. Subsequently, the Speaker is elected by a simple majority. In the last two Lok Sabhas, Sumitra Mahajan and Om Birla were the Speakers, respectively.

Why are TDP and JDU keen on Speaker post?

The TDP and the JDU have bagged two minister posts each — one Cabinet rank and one minister of post. So, why are they eyeing the Speaker’s post?

That is because the Speaker’s post is now extremely powerful, thanks to the anti-defection law. Mutinies within ruling parties have become fairly regular in recent years, leading to splits within big parties and even toppling governments — and the BJP has been largely behind those. A legislator who quits his/her political party or votes against the party’s instructions is liable for disqualification.

However, if two-thirds of a party’s legislators “merge” with another party, the 10th Schedule of the Constitution shields them from disqualification. In that case, the Speaker assumes a very powerful position. The law states that the “Chairman or the Speaker of the House have absolute power in deciding the cases pertaining to disqualification of members on the ground of defection”.

Both Naidu and Kumar, neither of whom wants a sudden mutiny in their party, see the Speaker’s post as an “insurance”.