Question

How is the speaker of the Lok Sabha elected?

Answer 1

Hint:
Ever since gaining independence, India has been a democratic country. In this form of government, all the people who hold posts within the government are elected through the election system. Elections may be direct or indirect, but it is the basis on which a democratic set-up is built. Since the Lok Sabha is one of the major organs of the government, the speaker of this house is chosen through the same system.

Complete answer:
The Lok Sabha is one of the two houses of parliament. It is also known as the lower house or the house of the people. In a democratic country, it is imperative that the person representing the interests of the people of the nation be chosen without any partiality. It is afterall a system for the people by the people themselves.

While true that free and fair elections for the universal adult franchise is the best possible method of electing government heads, it is also nearly impossible to have the entire population of a large country like India directly voting each time. It would be a long drawn process, with the risk of lost or tampered data.

Therefore, to make the process more smoother, while simultaneously keeping the power of choice in the hands of the citizens themselves, the process of indirect elections are used.

The general elections are held where people elect their representatives to form the members of the Lok Sabha. After these members are elected, on their first meeting of the house, they elect a speaker from among themselves. The MPs propose the names of the chosen candidates and the President of India appoints the date of election. The candidate who wins this election is appointed the Speaker for the upcoming term by the President.

Thus, the speaker of the Lok Sabha is elected through indirect elections where the Members of the lower house of the Parliament elect him/her.

Note:
-The term of the elected Speaker of the Lok Sabha is for five years.
-Sometimes, only one candidate is nominated for the position, and the President of India directly appoints him/her without any formal vote.
- By convention, the speaker is from the ruling party or alliance.