Mahtab was a member of the
Biju Janata Dal (
BJD) political party, and resigned from the BJD to join the
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on 28 March 2024 before the
Lok Sabha elections. He was elected to the
12th Lok Sabha in 1998 from the
Cuttack constituency of
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 in 2017. He is also the recipient of Sansad Ratna Award in 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
President Droupadi Murmu 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. 24 June 2024 and served till 24 June 2024 until
Om Birla was re-elected as the
Speaker of the Lok Sabha on the same day through voice-voting system. == See also ==