The Hindu : Who will be the next Speaker?

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Mar 05, 2002

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National

Who will be the next Speaker?
By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, MARCH 4. The sudden demise of G.M.C. Balayogi has added one more item to the list of problems the political leadership should attend to: who would be the new Lok Sabha Speaker?. The post would go to the Telugu Desam Party as per the existing understanding between the ruling NDA and its supporters.

Telugu Desam Party leaders here were unwilling to share their thoughts predictably preferring to leave the task of nomination to the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and party chief, N. Chandrababu Naidu. The outcome is expected to be known after the funeral of Balayogi on March 6.

The names of former TDP Parliamentary Party leader, Manda Jagannath and the TDP Parliamentary Party Leader, K. Yerran Naidu, are being mentioned as possible contenders for the post. M. Rajaiah and Umareddy Venkateswarulu could also figure in the race but much would depend on which factor the Chief Minister would give greater weightage: re-nomination of a Dalit leader or preferring a backward leader. Regional aspirations such as Telengana and coastal area representatives would also have to be taken into account.

Dr. Jagannath, who represents the Nagarkurnool reserved constituency, is said to be the front-runner. An ENT specialist, he has served the TDP as its Parliamentary Party leader in the 11th Lok Sabha and is an active Dalit leader who acted as a liaison between the TDP Government and ``Madiga'' community during a stand-off in the State earlier.

Mr. Yerran Naidu, is well known in political circles as the interface between the Government and the TDP. After having served as Union Minister in the United Front Government, he has established himself as an effective team leader. He had missed the Speaker's post after being the stand-by when Balayogi literally made it at the last minute choice in 1998.

Mr Rajaiah, who represents the Siddipet reserved constituency, is another prominent Dalit leader, who served as a Minister in the State Government while Prof. Venkateswarulu who served as the Union Minister, taught at the Agricultural University before moving to politics.

BJP meet cancelled

NEW DELHI, MARCH 4. The BJP parliamentary party meeting scheduled for tomorrow has been cancelled following the death of the Lok Sabha Speaker, G.M.C. Balayogi. The meeting is likely to take place on March 13 or 14.as next Tuesday, March 12, is a holiday, party sources said. - PTI

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