Who is K Suresh, INDIA bloc's candidate for Lok Sabha Speaker post?

The Congress has fielded Kodikunnil Suresh as its Lok Sabha Speaker candidate against BJP's Om Birla.

For the first time in decades, an election for the Lok Sabha Speaker's post will be held on Wednesday owing to a lack of consensus between the BJP-led NDA government and the Congress-led INDIA bloc opposition. The Congress has fielded Kodikunnil Suresh as its Lok Sabha Speaker candidate against BJP's Om Birla. Follow Lok Sabha Speaker election live coverage

Congress MP K Suresh, Opposition's candidate for Lok Sabha Speaker post

Traditionally, the Lok Sabha Speaker and the Deputy Speaker are elected through a consensus between the ruling party and the opposition. However, an indecision between the two promoted an election this time. Such an election for the post has been held only three times in history—1952, 1967, and 1976.

Reportedly, BJP's Birla has an edge over Congress' Suresh as the former has the backing of at least 293 MPs for the Lok Sabha Speaker election. While, the INDIA bloc has 233 members. According to reports, three independent members of the Lok Sabha will likely support the Opposition. Meanwhile, TMC, one of the parties from the INDIA bloc, has expressed disappointment over Suresh's nomination for the Lok Sabha Speaker post, saying that they were “not consulted”.

Who is K Suresh, Opposition's Lok Sabha Speaker post candidate?

1. Kodikunnil Suresh, who has filed his nomination for the Lok Sabha Speaker post, is a Congress MP and the chief whip of the Congress Parliamentary Party in the lower house of the Parliament.
2. Born in Kodikunnil, Thiruvananthapuram, Suresh was elected to the Lok Sabha for the first time in 1989, and thereafter, he won consecutively in the 1991,1996 and 1999 general elections from Adoor constituency for four straight terms. However, he was defeated in the 1998 and 2004 Lok Sabha elections.
3. In 2009, Suresh won from the Mavelikara Lok Sabha constituency. However, the Kerala High Court declared it void over the allegation that his caste certificate was fake. The verdict was later reversed by the Supreme Court.
4. In 2018, Suresh was appointed as the working president of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC).
5. Previously, he has served as a union minister of state for labour and employment. He was also the secretary of the All India Congress Committee (AICC).