Om Birla is new Lok Sabha speaker

New Delhi: NDA nominee Om Birla was on Wednesday unanimously elected as speaker of the Lok Sabha with several parties moving a motion in his support.

There was no other candidate in the fray and the motion moved by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to choose the Kota-Bundi MP as speaker was adopted by a voice vote.

A total of 13 motions were moved in support of Birla.

Since the motion moved by Modi, also leader of the House, was adopted, the other motions became infructuous.

Birla was declared elected as speaker by pro-tem Speaker Virendra



Kumar.

Modi led the new speaker to the presiding officer's chair. 

Leaders from the BJP, the Congress, the DMK and the TMC went up the podium to greet the 56-year-old new speaker of the Lower House.

Though the Congress and the DMK had moved notices for supporting Birla as the speaker well past the 12 noon Tuesday deadline, the pro-tem Speaker allowed it to be included as a "special case". 

Birla, who won his first Lok Sabha election in 2014, was again elected this year from Rajasthan's Kota-Bundi seat.