India set to get first woman Lok Sabha speaker

India is set to get its first woman Lok Sabha speaker with the Congress zeroing in on Water Resources Minister Meira Kumar, daughter of former deputy prime minister Jagjivan Ram. Congress sources said party president Sonia Gandhi decided to pick Meira Kumar, a Dalit and five-time MP.

Updated on: May 31, 2009, 16:22:00 IST

IANS | By HT Correspondent, New Delhi,

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India is set to get its first woman Lok Sabha speaker with the Congress zeroing in on Water Resources Minister Meira Kumar, daughter of former deputy prime minister Jagjivan Ram.

Congress sources said party president Sonia Gandhi decided to pick Meira Kumar, a Dalit and five-time MP. The other names in the running were tribal leader from Andhra Pradesh V Kishore Chandra Deo and Rajasthan's Girija Vyas.

Meira Kumar met the Congress chief Sunday afternoon. A formal announcement by the Congress is likely later.

Meira Kumar had on Friday taken charge as the minister for water resources in the new Manmohan Singh government. She won from Sasaram in Bihar.

Meira Kumar quit the Indian Foreign Service to take to politics in 1985. A law graduate, she also holds a Masters degree in English literature.

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