Narendra Modi passes parliamentary test with speaker election victory
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi successfully navigated the first major political challenge of his third term on Wednesday, as his party's candidate was elected speaker of the lower house of parliament.
Om Birla, a member of Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the previous term's speaker, was re-elected, defeating K Suresh, an eight-time Member of Parliament from the opposition Congress party.
In a rare display of bipartisanship, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, recently named the leader of the opposition, joined Modi in congratulating Birla on his victory.
This marks the first time Rahul Gandhi, the 54-year-old heir of the Nehru-Gandhi family, will hold a constitutional role in parliament, granting him the status of a cabinet minister.
'It is crucial that the voice of the opposition is represented in this house,' Gandhi stated in his speech congratulating Birla.
The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance holds 293 seats in the lower house, surpassing the required majority of 272 by 21 seats.
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