The BJP looks set to retain the Lok Sabha Speaker’s post with the Telugu Desam Party relinquishing its claim and the Janata Dal United too giving the thumbs-up, sources said.

The BJP has entrusted defence minister Rajnath Singh with the task of talking to the allies and the Opposition to ensure the Speaker’s election is unanimous.

The first session of the 18th Lok Sabha is scheduled to begin on June 24, with the Speaker’s election slated for June 26.

The Desam was initially said to be keen on the Speaker’s post, especially keeping in mind the BJP’s knack of engineering defections from other parties without disqualification. But BJP sources said the party had managed to get the Andhra Pradesh ally on board.

The other principal NDA partner, the JDU, is learnt to have agreed that the post should go to the largest party in the ruling alliance, the BJP.

“The next Speaker will be picked through consensus by the NDA partners and the person will be from the BJP. Rajnathji has already begun consultations,” a senior BJP leader said.

With Modi’s third government signalling continuity by retaining all the senior ministers from his second, sources close to outgoing Speaker Om Birla are hopeful that he too would get a second term as the presiding officer of the Lower House.

Birla has been re-elected to the Lok Sabha from Kota in Rajasthan and is known to enjoy the trust and support of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The Opposition parties might, however, oppose Birla’s candidature given the record number of suspensions of their MPs in the 17th Lok Sabha.

Former Biju Janata Dal leader Bhartruhari Mahtab, who crossed over to the BJP in March just ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, appears to be another contender for the post.

A multiple-term MP and recipient of several “Best Parliamentarian” awards, the 66-year-old Mahtab was re-elected from Cuttack on a BJP ticket this time.

Some in the BJP, though, feel that the soft-spoken Mahtab’s unassertive personality may not suit the party at a time when the Opposition, its numbers boosted, is raring to corner the government in the House.

The Desam could push for a member from Andhra Pradesh, such as state BJP chief D. Purandeshwari, to be appointed Speaker.

Purandeshwari, elected from the Rajahmundry seat, is the daughter of the late Desam founder, N.T. Rama Rao, and sister-in-law of Andhra chief minister and Desam boss Chandrababu Naidu.

Picking Purandeshwari can kill three birds with one stone: the BJP will keep the Speaker’s post, the Desam will be happy, and the alliance can showcase its choice of a woman for the top parliamentary post.