Gangwar to be Pro-tem Speaker

Senior BJP leader and Union minister Santosh Gangwar is likely to be the pro-tem Speaker in the new Lok Sabha.

The first session of the 17th Lok Sabha is likely to begin on June 6 and will continue till June 15.

Gangwar, is among the senior most Lok Sabha members who have been elected for the eighth term — he has won from Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh.

The other eight-term Lok Sabha member is Union minister Maneka Gandhi.

However, Gangwar pips her in seniority.

Gangwar has been a Lok Sabha member from 1989 for six consecutive terms. He lost the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, but staged a come back in 2014 for the seventh term. In 2019, Gangwar defeated SP-BSP-RLD candidate Bhagwat Saran Gangwar.

Like Gangwar, Maneka too made her debut in the Lok Sabha in 1989. She returned to the Lok Sabha in 1996 and has won every general election since then.

The Pro-tem speaker performs the duties of the office of the speaker from the commencement of the sitting of the Lok Sabha till the election of the Speaker.

The first two days of the Lok Sabha session will see the newly-elected members take oath or make affirmation in the presence of the Pro-tem Speaker.

The election of the Speaker is expected to take place on June 10 and President Ram Nath Kovind is likely to address the first joint sitting of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha on June 11.

In his address to the joint sitting of both the Houses of Parliament, the President will outline the priorities of the new government.

Both the Houses will take up the Motion of Thanks on the President's address from June 12 with Prime Minister Narendra Modi responding to the debate before the adjournment of the brief session.

The Budget Session of the new government could be held in July.