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Cong, BJP locked in tug-of-war over deputy speaker post

The stage is set for another battle royale between the Treasury and Opposition benches, as the election for the Lok Sabha deputy speaker's post looms up. The two candidates for the post are P M Sayeed of the Congress and Rita Verma of the Bharatiya Janata Party.

The battle will be a virtual vote of confidence for the government, testing whether the BJP still enjoys the total confidence of its allies. They will need the full support of J Jayalalitha's All-India Anna Dravida Kazhagam-led alliance and Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress, if their candidate is to win. The BJP and its allies have a slender lead of 12 votes, and anything amiss could lead to an undesirable result.

Both parties blame each other for the election. "The BJP did not contest the post of Rajya Sabha deputy chairman (the vice-president also holds the post of chairman) so it went to the Congress. They should now let a BJP person become the deputy speaker in the Lok Sabha," a BJP official said.

The Congress differs. "It is a well-known procedure that while the Speaker comes from the Treasury benches, the deputy speaker hails from the Opposition. Following this time-tested principle, the BJP must let a Congress MP become deputy speaker," says Congress general secretary Oscar Fernandes.

Speaker G M C Balayogi belongs to the Telugu Desam Party, which is not part of the government, but has said it will give "issue-based support" to the BJP. Balayogi was elected at the last minute, when the BJP backed away from its decision to support Congress candidate Purno A Sangma. This led to accusations and counter-accusations between the BJP and Congress.

"The Congress did not accept the TDP choice," said the BJP official. "If they had, then maybe we might have considered their request for the deputy speaker's post."

"Since the Speaker is from the ruling side, we are not willing to concede the deputy speaker's post too," asserted Fernandes. "We are confident of winning the election, whenever it is held."

The Congress is hopeful that some of the BJP's allies, none too pleased with the party, may vote for Sayeed. The BJP, however, pooh-poohs the notion. "The BJP and its allies are united on the issue," insisted the official. "The prime minister had meetings with our coalition partners and took them into confidence. So there is no chance of our candidate losing."

"If the BJP is so confident, why did they delay the deputy speaker's election for so long?" ask Fernandes. "Let all the members vote independently and see the result."

The date of the poll is still to be fixed, but it is likely to be held on August 4, the last day of the current Budget session. The delay is on account of the tabling of the Jain Commission final report and the Action Taken Report in the Lok Sabha on the evening of July 30. They are also awaiting the return of the prime minister from Colombo. The prime minister's office said the PM will return from Colombo on July 31.

Meanwhile, it is learnt that the Congress is banking on the tacit support of the Trinamool Congress to see its candidate through. Sayeed and Banerjee have known each other for many years and share a good rapport. It is expected that either the Trinamool Congress might vote for Sayeed or simply abstain, both of which could be embarrassing for the BJP.

It is also believed that Banerjee did not attend the session chaired by the prime minister, where it was decided that the ruling alliance would field a candidate for the deputy speaker's post.

However, the BJP is reportedly putting pressure on her, pointing out that a defeat for the BJP candidate would be moral blow proving that the Treasury benches lacked the majority in the House. The Opposition might then up the ante and demand the government's resignation. Also, with the Left parties set to back the Congress candidate, the BJP is counting on Banerjee's known antagonism against the Communist Party of India -Marxist to make her stay on its side.

Sayeed, who represents Lakshwadeep, has been a member of the Lok Sabha since 1967, winning a record nine general elections consecutively. Rita Verma is the widow of a former Indian Police Service officer who was killed in Dhanbad, Bihar, and is a third-term MP.

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