Om Birla, two-time BJP MP from Rajasthan, is the new Lok Sabha Speaker

New Delhi, June 19: Om Birla, a two-time Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) member of Parliament (MP) from Rajasthan, was unanimously elected as the Lok Sabha Speaker on Wednesday, with the opposition Congress coming out in support of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA)'s candidate.

Om Birla's name was proposed by PM Narendra Modi in Lok Sabha and was supported by all major parties including Congress, TMC, DMK & BJD.

On Tuesday, the NDA announced Birla's candidature for the Speaker's post. The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and YSR Congress Party (YSRCP), too, backed him for the post.

Birla will succeed Sumitra Mahajan, who opted out of the Lok Sabha elections 2019. He was elected to the 17th Lok Sabha from the Kota-Bundi parliamentary constituency.

Birla became a first-time MP in 2014, when the NDA returned to power after 10 years under Modi. An agriculturist and social worker, Birla, 57, had been a three-time member of the legislative assembly (MLA) in Rajasthan. He entered public life at 17, when he became the president of the Students Association in Kota. He was also the national vice-president of the All India Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, the youth wing of the BJP.

Birla is also a member of the Standing Committee on Energy in Parliament, member of Committee on Petitions and Consultative Committee for ministry of social justice and empowerment. He has an 86 per cent average attendance in the House.