On June 26, 2024, Om Birla was elected Speaker of the Lok Sabha by voice vote. The opposition had put up its own candidate, Kodikunnil Suresh. Several news reports called it the first contest for the post since independence.
The fact-checking site Logically Facts found that claim false. Speakers had been elected after a contest in 1952, 1967 and 1976. India Today called 2024 the first Speaker poll “in nearly 50 years.”