The Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha (IAST: ) is the second highest ranking legislative officer of the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Parliament of India. They act as the presiding officer in case of leave or absence caused by death or illness of the Speaker of the Lok Sabha. It is by convention that the position of Deputy Speaker is offered to the opposition party in India. The Deputy Speaker is elected in the first meeting of the Lok Sabha after the General elections for a term of five years from amongst the members of the Lok Sabha. They hold office until either they cease to be a member of the Lok Sabha or they resign. They can be removed from office by a resolution passed in the Lok Sabha by an effective majority of its members. In effective majority, the majority should be 50% or more than 50% of total strength of the house after removing the vacancies. Since the Deputy Speaker is accountable for the Lok Sabha, the elimination is done by the effective majority in Lok Sabha only. There is no need to resign from their original party though as a Deputy Speaker, they have to remain impartial. The parliamentary convention for the Republic of India is for the Deputy Speaker to come from the Opposition benches. As of March 2021, uniquely in the history of the Republic, the Lok Sabha approaches two years of a vacant Deputy Speaker seat. List Key No.: Incumbent number Assassinated or died in office Returned to office after a previous non-consecutive term Statistics List of deputy speakers by length of term See also Vice President of India (Chairperson of the Rajya Sabha) Speaker of the Lok Sabha Deputy Chairperson of the Rajya Sabha Leader of the House in Lok Sabha Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Leader of the House in Rajya Sabha Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha Secretary General of the Lok Sabha References Notelist External links Website of Loksabha Current Speaker's Details from Loksabha Website Parliament of India Website Lists of political office-holders in India Lists of legislative speakers in India Lists of members of the Lok Sabha