President Droupadi Murmu on Thursday appointed BJP MP Bhartruhari Mahtab, who crossed over from the BJD just ahead of the elections, as the pro-tem Speaker of the Lok Sabha, bypassing the convention of giving the temporary post to one from among the senior-most MPs of the Lower House.

Though not bound by rule, the appointment was seen as an indication of the Narendra Modi-led NDA government's intention of not ceding any space to the Opposition despite the BJP's numbers falling well below the majority mark.

The Opposition, boosted by its increased strength in the House, has been pressing for the Deputy Speaker's post but with Mahtab's choice, the new government appeared in no mood to follow democratic conventions. Mahtab has been elected for the seventh term this time from the Cuttack Lok Sabha seat as a BJP MP, a seat he had represented for the past six terms since 1998 as a BJD member.

In comparison, the 18th Lok Sabha has two MPs who have been elected for the eighth term this time — Congress's Kodukunnil Suresh and BJP's Virendra Kumar. With Virendra sworn in as a Union minister, it was expected that Suresh would be made the pro-tem Speaker. In the last Lok Sabha, Virendra was made the pro-tem Speaker.

Congress general secretary and communication in-charge Jairam Ramesh flagged the non-adherence to convention without directly imputing any motive. "By convention, the MP who has served the maximum terms is appointed Speaker Protem for the first two days when oath is administered to all newly elected MPs," Ramesh wrote on X.

The first session of the 18th Lok Sabha starts on June 24 and the election of the Speaker will be conducted on June 26.