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Meira Kumar likely to be Lok Sabha Speaker

NEW DELHI — Congress MP from Sasaram and daughter of late Jagjivan Ram Meira Kumar has emerged as the front-runner for the Lok Sabha Speaker’s post.

Meira Kumar assumed the charge of Water Resources ministry in the just formed Central government.

According to Congress sources, Kumar’s name has been considered as it can send a strong social and political message.

“Never before has a woman occupied the Speaker’s post in the Lok Sabha. She is also a Dalit,” a top Congress leader said.

Despite the party’s poor performance in Bihar, Kumar has been able to retain her seat.

Though her move to the Speaker’s chair will leave Bihar without representation in the Cabinet, not many in her constituency are bothered about this. “She is difficult to access and hardly done anything for Bihar. We don’t expect anything (from her) in future also. Her credentials being that she is the daughter of late Babu Jagjivan Ram is the only factor that ensured her win in the elections so far,” said Gagan Thakur, a salon owner in Sasaram.

Ahead of the meeting, it seemed that V Kishore Chandra Deo, a five-term Congress MP from Araku in Andhra Pradesh, was to be the front-runner. But a court case that has questioned his Scheduled Tribe status may have weighed against him.

The other name that’s being discussed is Rajasthan MP Girija Vyas who was the former chairperson of the National Commission for Women.

BJP leader Sushma Swaraj is likely to be elected  deputy leader of the Lok Sabha.