A day after the INDIA bloc hinted that it might field its candidate for the Lok Sabha Speaker’s post, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Sunday asserted that the Opposition’s alliance will back TDP’s candidate for the post.

Speaking to reporters in Mumbai, Raut said that the election to Speaker’s post is important and that the situation is not the same as it was in 2014 and 2019.

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He claimed that the BJP will try to break the NDA alliance partners if the Speaker’s post is not given to them.

”This fight of the Lok Sabha Speaker is important. This time, the situation is not similar to 2014 and 2019. The government is not stable… We have heard that Chandrababu Naidu has asked for the Lok Sabha Speaker post… If a candidate of NDA will not get the post of Lok Sabha Speaker, then PM Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah will break TDP, JDU and LJP (Ram Vilas)… If Chandrababu Naidu doesn’t get this position then we will ensure that his candidate gets the support from the INDIA alliance…,” he said.

According to reports, the INDIA bloc has been demanding the post of Deputy Speaker. If not given the post, the Opposition alliance said, it will field its own candidate for the Speaker’s post as it has the numbers to make it a tough contest.

Nitish Kumar’s JD-U, which is the second largest constituent of the ruling NDA alliance, said that they will support the BJP’s pick for the important post of Lok Sabha Speaker.

However, Chandrababu Naidu’s TDP has reportedly demanded an NDA candidate. Speaking to an English daily, a TDP Spokesperson on Saturday said that the decision on the Speaker’s candidate must be taken after reaching due consensus.

“The NDA partners will sit together and decide who our candidate for the Speaker is going to be. Once a consensus is reached, we will field that candidate and all partners, including the TDP, will support the candidate,” TDP Spokesperson Pattabhi Ram Kommareddy was quoted as saying.

The principal Opposition Congress is also wary of the election to the Speaker’s post and raised concern that BJP may indulge in horse trading if its candidate becomes the Speaker.

“Not just TDP and JD(U), but the people of the entire country are eagerly watching the election to the post of the Lok Sabha Speaker. If BJP does not have the intention to do anything undemocratic in the future, it should give the Speaker’s post to one of its allies,” senior Congress leader Ashok Gehlot said in a post on ‘X’.

Following the allocation of portfolios in Modi’s third Cabinet, the election for the Speaker’s post is being closely monitored. This heightened interest stems from NDA allies, such as the JD-U and TDP, having to accept relatively smaller Cabinet positions.

The TDP and JD-U, with 16 and 12 seats each, are the largest allies of the Narendra Modi-led NDA coalition’s government. With the BJP well short of the majority mark, their support is crucial for the Modi government to complete the full five-year term.