Om Birla, two-time BJP MP from Rajasthan, becomes Speaker of 17th Lok Sabha

NDA candidate Om Birla on Wednesday becomes the Speaker of the 17th Lok Sabha after PM Narendra Modi moves the motion for his election in Parliament.

Birla's candidature was backed by all NDA allies as also by the YSR Congress Party, the Biju Janata Dal and key opposition parties, including the Congress.

Birla, 57, is a two-term Lok Sabha Member of Parliament. He won from Rajasthan’s Kota-Bundi seat in the just concluded general electionwhere he defeated Congress' Ramnarain Meena by over 2.5 lakh votes.

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Former Lok Sabha speaker Sumitra Mahajan garlands BJP MP from Kota Lok Sabha constituency Om Birla during a meeting in New Delhi on Tuesday. (ANI Photo)

Birla was also a Member of Assembly in Rajasthan for three terms and was a parliamentary secretary in the government of Vasundhara Raje between 2003-08.

Birla had the support of 10 parties including BJD and YSRCP which are not part of the NDA. The BJP on its own has 303 MPs and the NDA has 352.