BJP MP from Kota, Om Birla has been appointed as Speaker of the 17th Lok Sabha.
BJP's Om Birla on Wednesday took charge as Speaker of the 17th Lok Sabha. Birla is a second-time MP, who has just won re-election from the Kota constituency.
Birla was elected to the 17th Lok Sabha from Kota where he defeated Congress' Ramnarain Meena by over 2.5 lakh votes. He was elected to the last Lok Sabha also from the same seat.
Here are 10 things to know about Om Birla:
1. PM Modi's choice
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Birla's name was proposed for the post by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
2. Backed by NDA, BJD, YSRCP
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He has the backing of all the NDA partners, apart from other parties such as the Biju Janata Dal and YSR Congress Party.
3. No challenger
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Birla, 56, is likely to assume the Speaker's post without an election since no opposition MP has filed his/her nomination for the post.
4. Modi-Shah loyalist
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He is known for setting up a clothes bank and a blanket bank to help the poor and underprivileged, especially in the winter. He is considered a loyalist of PM Modi and Amit Shah.
5. Creation of new power centre
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The decision to project him is also seen as the creation of a new power centre in the Hadauti region - which includes Kota and Dhaulapur - to counter Vasundhara Raje.
6. Qualification
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He earned his B Com and M Com degrees from Ajmer's Maharshi Dayanand Saraswati University in 1984 and 1986 respectively.
7. Student leader
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Birla has been active in politics since his college days. He was state chief of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha from 1991 to 1997, after which he was national vice president of the organisation till 2003.
8. Prominent Vaishya face
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Birla is considered as a prominent party face from the Vaishya community in Rajasthan.
9. 2-time MP, 3-time MLA
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Birla was first elected to the Lok Sabha in the 2014 election from Kota. Before that, he had been elected to the Rajasthan Assembly thrice from Kota South Assembly constituency, which is part of the Kota Lok Sabha constituency.
10. Parliamentary Secretary in Raje govt for 5 years
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He served as a Parliamentary Secretary, which is a Minister of State position, in Rajasthan's Vasundhara Raje government between 2003 and 2008.
