India's Modi wins test of strength in parliament with election of speaker

26/6/2024 20:00

        Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi passed the first big political test of his third term on Wednesday as a candidate from the ruling coalition was elected speaker of the lower house of parliament, defeating an opposition lawmaker.
        
        Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is having to rely on allies to run the government for the first time in a decade, while the opposition did much better than expected in a bitterly fought national election that ended this month.
        
        The speaker's post was contested instead of being chosen by consensus, as is the usual practice.
        
        The BJP's Om Birla, who was speaker in the last term of the house too, beat K. Suresh, an eight-time MP from the opposition Congress party by a voice vote, by estimating the volume of members shouting their assent or opposition.
        
        The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance has 293 lawmakers in the lower house, known as the Lok Sabha, 21 more than the required majority of 272.