Bhubaneswar: Bhartruhari Mahtab, a seven-time MP from Odisha, has been appointed as the Pro-tem Speaker of the 18^th Lok Sabha.

President Droupadi Murmu appointed Mahtab, the BJP Lok Sabha MP from Cuttack, as the Pro-tem Speaker of the newly-constituted Lok Sabha under Article 95 (1) of the Constitution.

Mahatab had won the Lok Sabha polls from prestigious Cuttack constituency in Odisha for six consecutive terms on Biju Janata Dal (BJD) tickets.

Mahtab, the son of former Chief Minister Harekrushna Mahatab, was the floor leader of BJD in the Lok Sabha from 2014 to 2019.

The veteran politician left the BJD and joined the BJP ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha and Assembly polls in Odisha.

The fought the recently concluded Parliamentary polls on a BJP ticket and got elected to the Lok Sabha for the seventh consecutive term by defeating Santrupt Misra of BJD.