Meet Om Birla,India’s newly elected Lok Sabha speaker

• Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s Om Birla is nominated to become the 17th Lok Sabha Speaker.
  
• The 57 year old Birla, was once a key leader of the Bhartiya Janata Yuva Morcha and reportedly has close ties with Amit Shah.
  

Om Birla, who was nomiated by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) yesterday is elected as the 17th Lok Sabha Speaker. He is going to succeed 76-year-old Sumitra Mahajan — the 16th Lok Sabha Speaker who did not contest the elections this time.

However, there is no official announcement yet. Om Birla’s wife congratulated him by saying this was a proud moment for the family.

Pinaki Misra, the Biju Janata Dal’s parliamentary party leader in the Lok Sabha, said that his party, although not a member of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), had decided to support Birla.

"The BJP, which has a clear majority in the Lok Sabha, has nominated Om Birla for the post of the Lok Sabha Speaker and sought our support for him. Since we have always had constructive cooperation with the Centre, we will support the proposal," said Mishra.

The 57 year old Birla, was once a key leader of the Bhartiya Janata Yuva Morcha and reportedly has close ties with Amit Shah. He also played a significant role in BJP-led Ram Janmabhoomi movement in the 1990s.

The decision to nominate Birla came soon after JP Nadda took the place as working BJP yuva president. Birla has worked closely with Nadda too. Om Birla worked as a Vice-President of BJP youth wing when Nadda was serving as the president of the same.

Om Birla, who has been contesting as an MLA from Kota, kept winning from 2003 to 2014. He represented the Kota-Bundi Lok Sabha constituency.

He reportedly had a case registered against him in 2018 during his entire political career. He was accused of accumulating assets disproportionate to his income. The Rajasthan High Court dismissed the case in 2019.