Om Birla, a senior leader representing the Vaishya community in the BJP, was elected as the Speaker of the 17th Lok Sabha unanimously on Wednesday, 19 June, after being named NDA's nominee for the post on Tuesday, 18 June.
The 56-year-old two-time MP from Kota will succeed eight-term MP Sumitra Mahajan as the presiding officer of the Lower House.
Active in politics since his student days, Birla marked his entry into the mainstream and earned the moniker ‘giant killer’ in 2003, when he defeated Congress stalwart Shanti Dhariwal in Kota South.
Recently, Birla defeated Congress candidate Ramnarayan Meena with a huge margin of over 2.5 lakh votes to win the Kota-Bundi Lok Sabha seat in the 2019 general election.
In the 2014 election, he defeated Congress' Ijyaraj Singh by a margin of over 2 lakh votes.
Thereafter, he was appointed as Member of the Committee on Estimates.
Birla was also appointed as Member of the Committee on Petitions and Member, Standing Committee on Energy, in September 2014. He held the membership till May 2019.
Besides, he was also appointed as Member of Consultative Committee in the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment in the same year.
Share of Controversy
Om Birla, who is considered one of the core loyalists of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, had has his share of controversy as well.
In March 2018, Mahendra Gautam, a former assistant of Om Birla, had written a letter to PM Modi and the Supreme Court, mentioning "illegal and corrupt” activities of the parliamentarian, according to media reports.
He had reportedly sought police protection amid threat to his life and family.
Gautam, who was handling Birla's political and financial affairs, had reportedly filed a case against Birla alleging that his then boss was in possession of assets disproportionate to his known sources of income. Rajasthan High Court dismissed the case in April this year.
During the 2019 polls, Birla had said that "people should re-elect me for giving another term to Narendra Modi as the prime minister of India," India Today had reported.
A 3-Time MLA from Kota South Assembly Seat
Apart from winning a seat in the Parliament twice, Birla was also a three-time MLA from the Kota South Assembly seat – he was elected to Rajasthan Assembly for three consecutive terms in 2003, 2008 and 2013.
A Commerce graduate from Kota and MDS university in Rajasthan’s Ajmer, Birla held the position of Chairperson at Rajasthan State Cooperative Consumer Association in Jaipur from June 1992 to June 1995.
He was also the Vice President of National Cooperative Consumer Association Ltd in New Delhi.
In May 2004, he was appointed as Parliamentary Secretary (MOS) to the Government of Rajasthan. During his tenure, he helped the poor by providing them financial assistance through the state government.
Besides, he was also appointed a member at Coal India Ltd in New Delhi.
BJYM National Vice-President for 6 Consecutive Years
In 1997, Birla was appointed as National Vice-President of All India Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha. He held the post for 6 consecutive years.
At the age of 17, Birla was elected as president of the Students Association at Govt. Senior Secondary School, Gumanpura, Kota in 1979.
Later, he joined the Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangh as a prime member.
(With inputs from DNA & India Today)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)