Bhartruhari Mahtab

Bhartruhari Mahtab (born 8 September 1957) is an Indian politician from Odisha. He served as the pro tem speaker of the Lok Sabha from 24th June, 2024 to 26th June, 2024 after the 2024 Indian general election. He has been a member of Lok Sabha from 1998 to 2024 as member of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD). Ahead of the 2024 elections, he quit BJD and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Early life
Mahtab is the son of late Harekrushna Mahatab, who served two times as the Chief Minister of Odisha.

Career
Mahtab was a member of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) political party, and resigned from the BJD to join BJP on 28th March, 2024. He was elected to the 12th Lok Sabha in 1998 from Cuttack constituency in Odisha. He was re-elected to the Lok Sabha in 1999, 2004, 2009, 2014 and 2019 from the same constituency. He received the Outstanding Parliamentarian Award 2017. He is also the recipient of Sansad Ratna Award 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020 for his outstanding performance in 'Debates'. He was appointed as the Pro-tem speaker of the 18th Lok Sabha on 20 June 2024 by the President of India under the Article 95(1) of the Constitution of India, with the office coming into effect from the first day of the sitting of the 18th Lok Sabha i.e. June 24, 2024 and served till June 26, 2024 until Om Birla has been elected as the Speaker of 18th Lok Sabha on the same day.