Surjya Patro to be elected Speaker today

BHUBANESWAR: BJD veteran Surjya Narayan Patro is likely to be elected Speaker of the new Assembly on Saturday.The process for election of a new Speaker of Odisha Assembly began on Friday with a notice to this effect being issued by the Secretary of the State Assembly. Election to the post will be held on Saturday.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Bikram Keshari Arukha told mediapersons that Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has announced the name of Patro as the Speaker of the State Assembly. “I will recommend his name to the Secretary of the Assembly as a proposer on Saturday. The election will take place during the Assembly session at 11 am on the same day,” he said.

In absence of a full-time Speaker, BJD leader Amar Prasad Satpathy has been appointed pro-tem Speaker.
However, election to the Speaker’s post is likely to be unanimous as opposition BJP and Congress do not have adequate numbers. Out of the 146 members in the new Assembly, the ruling BJD has 112 while BJP has won 23 and Congress nine. One seat each has been won by CPM and an Independent.
Patro has been elected to the State Assembly for the seventh consecutive term in 2019 election. While the senior leader has been elected four times from Mohana Assembly seat, he has represented Digapahandi segment for three terms in a row.