Kodikunnil Suresh of Congress likely to be named Pro Tem Speaker of Lok Sabha

Kodikunnil Suresh, the Congress MP from Kerala, is set to become the Pro Tem Speaker of the Lok Sabha. Suresh is up for the ceremonial post since he is the senior-most member of the incoming Lok Sabha who has not been called to join the Union Cabinet. The two MPs who were senior to Suresh - Maneka Gandhi and Santosh Gangwar - have both been called by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to join his new Cabinet.

Suresh,62, is set to begin his seventh term as a member of the Lok Sabha¸ which makes him the most senior member of the incoming house who is available to carry out the responsibilities of Pro Tem Speaker.

Suresh was elected from the Adoor constituency in Kerala in 1989, 1991, 1996 and 1999, and from the Mavelikara constituency in 2009, 2014 and 2019.

The post of Pro Tem Speaker is a ceremonial one, and the senior-most member officiates till a new Lok Sabha Speaker and is elected by the members of the new House. The Pro Tem Speaker is the one who administers the oath of office to the newly elected members. Once they have all taken their oaths, they elect the Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha. The Pro Tem Speaker then administers the oath of office to the new Speaker and Deputy Speaker.

The role of the Pro Tem Speaker usually ends here, unless the posts of both Speaker and Deputy Speaker fall vacant for reasons such as death, resignation or incapacitation. In such an event, the Pro Tem Speaker officiates, again till a new Speaker can be chosen.

The Pro Tem Speaker of the outgoing Lok Sabha was senior Congress leader Kamal Nath. He has since resigned from the Lok Sabha to take charge as Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh.

While the Pro Tem Speaker does not have any real powers, serving in this role is considered prestigious as it is an acknowledgement of either the seniority of the member or of their knowledge of the traditions of the House.