Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said seven-time Lok Sabha member Bhartrihari Mahtab was appointed as the pro tempore speaker (pro tem) of the lower house. Bhartrihari Mahtab will administer oath to the new MPs. Bhartrihari Mahtab will hold the duties of Presiding Officer till the election of Speaker of Lok Sabha. Member of Lok Sabha K. Suresh, TR Balu, Radha Mohan Singh, Faggan Singh Kulaste and Sudeep Bandopadhyay will assist the caretaker president.
When is the first session of Lok Sabha?
The first session of the 18th Lok Sabha will begin on June 24. During this time, the new members of the lower house will be sworn in, followed by the election of the Speaker of the Lok Sabha on June 26. President Draupadi Murmu will address a joint session of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha on June 27 and outline the work of the new government for the next five years.
Who is Bhartrihari Mahtab?
Bhartrihari Mahtab is a BJP MP from Cuttack Lok Sabha constituency in Odisha. Earlier he was in Biju Janata Dal. Mahtab defeated his nearest rival Satrat Mishra of BJD by 57,077 votes from the Cuttack seat. By winning 20 of the total 21 Lok Sabha seats in Odisha, the BJP wiped out the Janata Dal in the Lok Sabha elections. Congress has won one seat in the state. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, BJD won 12 seats, BJP won eight and Congress won one seat. Along with this, BJP has formed the government in Odisha for the first time by registering a victory in the assembly elections.
PM Modi thanked Odisha
In a message on ‘X’ after the Lok Sabha elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, “Thank you Odisha! This is a great victory to celebrate good governance and the unique culture of Odisha. The BJP will leave no stone unturned to realize people’s dreams and take Odisha to new heights of progress.” , PM Modi’s message has made it clear that Odisha is special for the BJP this time and it will get an important role in the government.