Om Birla

Om Birla (born 23 November 1962; Hindi pronunciation: [oːm bɪɽ.laː])^[2] is an Indian politician from Rajasthan. He is currently serving as the Speaker of the Lok Sabha since 19 June 2019, when he was re-elected for a second term in June 2024. He serves as a Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha from Kota constituency in Rajasthan since 2014.^[3] In 2024, he became the first person in twenty years to be re-elected as an MP to the lower house, after serving as the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, and also one of only two MPs to be appointed the speaker twice.^[4][5]

Om Birla
Birla in 2024
Speaker of the Lok Sabha
Incumbent
Assumed office 19 June 2019
President	Ram Nath Kovind Droupadi Murmu
Prime Minister	Narendra Modi
Preceded by	Sumitra Mahajan[a]
Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha
Incumbent
Assumed office 16 May 2014
Preceded by	Ijyaraj Singh
Constituency	Kota, Rajasthan
Member of Rajasthan Legislative Assembly
In office December 2003 – May 2014
Preceded by	Shanti Kumar Dhariwal (from Kota before bifurcation)
Succeeded by	Sandeep Sharma
Constituency	Kota South
Personal details
Born	(1962-11-23) 23 November 1962 (age 62) Kota, Rajasthan, India
Political party	Bharatiya Janata Party
Other political affiliations	National Democratic Alliance
Spouse	Amita Birla ​ (m. 1991)​
Children	2
Residences	20, Akbar Road, Delhi 80-B, Shakti Nagar, Kota[1]
Alma mater	Government Commerce College, Kota Maharshi Dayanand Saraswati University
Occupation	Politician businessperson [1]
Website	www.ombirla.in (in Hindi)

He was also a member of the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly representing Kota South Assembly constituency from 2003 to 2014. He is a member of the Bhartiya Janta Party. He won the 2024 Lok Sabha Speaker Election as NDA candidate.^[6] He is a three-time MP from Kota Lok Sabha constituency.^[7][3][8]

Early life

Om Birla was born to Shrikrishna Birla and Shakuntala Devi in a Marwari Hindu family. He completed his master's degree in commerce from Government Commerce College, Kota, and Maharshi Dayanand Saraswati University, Ajmer.^[3] He married Amita Birla in 1991 and has two daughters, Akansha and Anjali.^[9]

Political career

Legislative Assembly

Om Birla won his first assembly elections contesting from Kota South in 2003. He defeated Shanti Dhariwal from Congress by a margin of 10,101 votes. In the next assembly elections, he defended his seat with a comfortable margin of 24,300 votes to his nearest candidate Ram Kishan Verma from Congress in 2008. Before becoming a member of parliament, he won his third assembly election against Pankaj Mehta (Congress) by close to 50,000 votes in 2013. During his tenure in 2003–08, he was the Parliamentary Secretary (MoS rank) in Rajasthan Government.^[10][1]

Member of Parliament

As the BJP candidate for the Kota constituency, Birla was elected to the 16th, 17th and 18th Lok Sabha.^[1]

In the 16th Lok Sabha, he was a member of the Standing Committee on Energy and Consultative Committee for the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.^[1]

His selection for the post of the Speaker of the Lok Sabha for the first time was unexpected.^[10] He was elected as speaker for the second time in June 2024.^[11]

Speaker of the Lok Sabha

Rafael Grossi, IAEA Director General, met with the Parliamentarians (Inter-Parliamentary Union) at a meeting during their official visit at the Agency headquarters in Vienna, Austria

On 19 June 2019 Om Birla was elected Speaker of the 17th Lok Sabha, following a motion for election moved by Prime Minister Modi of the Bharatiya Janata Party. In his first tenure many bills were passed by the house during that time. He won the 2024 Lok Sabha Speaker Election as the NDA candidate by voice vote.^[3][8] Om Birla has become the Speaker of the Lok Sabha for the second consecutive time.^[12]

Posts held

• District president, Bhartiya Janta Yuva Morcha, Kota. (1987–91)
• State president, Bhartiya Janta Yuva Morcha, Rajasthan State. (1991–1997)
• National vice president, Bhartiya Janta Yuva Morcha (1997–2003)
• MLA From Kota South (2003–2014)
• Member of Parliament from Kota (2014–Present)
• Vice Chairman, National Co-operative Consumer Federation Limited.
• Chairman, CONFED, Jaipur. (June 1992 to June 1995)
• Speaker of the 17th Lok Sabha (from 19 June 2019 to 3 March 2024)
• Speaker of the 18th Lok Sabha (from 26 June 2024–present)

Notes

1. Virendra Kumar Khatik and Bhartruhari Mahtab as Pro-tem speakers in 17th and 18th Lok Sabha