List of Speakers of Lok Sabha since 1947
Powers, Selection and Role of Lok Sabha Speaker
The speaker of the Lok Sabha is the presiding officer of the lower house of the parliament of India. The speaker is a member of parliament (MP) and is elected at the beginning of each new parliament by fellow MPs. The speaker represents the assembly functions, rules the parliamentary procedures and parliamentary privilege, and presides over the debates and voting in the Lok Sabha.
MPs propose a name to the Pro team speaker. These names are notified to the President of India. The President through their aide Secretary-General notifies the election date. If only one name is proposed, the Speaker is elected without any formal vote. However, if more than one nomination is received, a division (vote) is called. MPs vote for their candidate on a date notified by the President. The successful candidate is elected as Speaker of the Lok Sabha until the next general election
Article 79 of the Constitution of India states that there shall be a Parliament for the Union, which comprises of the President and the two Houses- Rajya Sabha (the council of states) and Lok Sabha (House of the people).
The tenure of the speaker is of five years. Traditionally this post is given to the member of the ruling party. Till date, 16 speakers have served as the Lok Sabha speaker. The very first speaker of Lok Sabha was Ganesh Vasudev Mavalankar. The Current speaker of Lok Sabha is Om Birla from Kota constituency.
Read more: How many Parliamentary Committees are there in India?
Following is the list of speakers till date:
| Sr No. | Name | Period | Party |
| 1 | Ganesh Vasudev Mavalankar | 1952- 1956 | Indian National Congress |
| 2 | M. A. Ayyangar | 1956- 1962 | Indian National Congress |
| 3 | Sardar Hukam Singh | 1962-1967 | Indian National Congress |
| 4 | Neelam Sanjiva Reddy | 1967- 1969 | Indian National Congress |
| 5 | Gurdial Singh Dhillon | 1969- 1975 | Indian National Congress |
| 6 | Bali Ram Bhagat | 1976- 1977 | Indian National Congress |
| 7 | Neelam Sanjiva Reddy | 1977 | Janatha Party |
| 8 | K. S. Hegde | 1977- 1980 | Janatha Party |
| 9 | Balram Jakhar | 1980- 1989 | Indian National Congress |
| 10 | Rabi Ray | 1989- 1991 | Janata Dal |
| 11 | Shivraj Patil | 1991-1996 | Indian National Congress |
| 12 | P. A. Sangma | 1996-1998 | Indian National Congress |
| 13 | G. M. C. Balayogi | 1998-2002 | Telugu Desam Party |
| 14 | Manohar Joshi | 2002-2004 | Shiv Sena |
| 15 | Somnath Chatterjee | 2004-2009 | Communist Party of India |
| 16 | Meira Kumar | 2009-2014 | Indian National Congress |
| 17 | Sumitra Mahajan | 2014-2019 | Bhartiya Janta Party |
| 18 | Om Birla | 2019- Present | Bhartiya Janta Party |
Sumitra Mahajan and Meira Kumar are the only two female Lok Sabha speakers till date.
A Lok Sabha speaker can be removed by a resolution passed by an effective majority of more than 50 percent of people of the house as per the articles 94 and 96.
Conclusion:
General knowledge is a subjective concept. No matter how much you read, something will be left behind. Being a student, you can try to cover as much as possible to crack the examination. As a result, you are expected to know a few names, remember important dates and incidents that hold some importance for our country. Similarly, it is about the speakers of the parliament. The above-mentioned names will help remember all the speakers of Lok Sabha since independence.
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