Three-time lawmaker and NDA candidate Birla was elected Speaker of the 18th Lok Sabha. He is the second presiding officer to return to the chair who has served a full term after Congress’ Balram Jakhar.

During Birla’s previous tenure, the Lok Sabha saw a marked improvement in efficiency.

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He deftly handled Parliament affairs during the crucial Covid times and ensured the passage of landmark legislations in the Lok Sabha including the Women’s Reservation Bill, the abolition of Article 370, the implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), and three criminal laws.

He was in the chair during the 17th Lok Sabha when more than 100 MPs were suspended in the Lower House. Another 46 Opposition lawmakers were suspended from the Rajya Sabha.

Sixty-one-year-old Birla is the first Lok Sabha Speaker who has a record of working in both the new and old Parliament Houses. His tenure in the 17th Lok Sabha was much talked about.

Birla is the first leader in the history of Kota to win the assembly elections three times and Lok Sabha elections three times in a row after Vaidya Daudyal Joshi.

The BJP surprised everyone by electing him the Speaker in 2019. Despite not having a long parliamentary experience, the way Birla ran the House was praiseworthy. He was the only Lok Sabha Speaker during whose tenure no Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker was elected.

The productivity of the 17th Lok Sabha was 97 per cent, which was the highest in the past 25 years. The productivity of the fourth session of the 17th Lok Sabha, held amid the Corona epidemic, was 167 per cent, which is the highest in the history of the Lok Sabha.

Om Birla’s parliamentary experience may not have been long, but he has been winning every election continuously since 2003. A prominent Vaishya face of the BJP, Om Birla began his political journey as a student leader and served three consecutive terms in the Rajasthan assembly from 2003 to 2013.

He fought the Lok Sabha election for the first time in 2014 and won from Kota parliamentary seat. Birla was re-elected as MP in 2019 and then in 2024, after defeating Congress’ Prahlad Gunjal.

He has been a prominent figure in the BJP, particularly known for his work in cooperative societies in Rajasthan and Gujarat. Over the years, he has held significant roles, including in the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha.

Born in a Marwari Hindu family, Birla earned his Master’s in commerce from Government Commerce College, Kota, and Maharshi Dayanand Saraswati University, Ajmer. He is married to Amita Birla and is a father to two daughters.