ThiruvananthapuramVeteran Congress leader Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan was elected Speaker of the 16th Kerala Legislative Assembly on Friday.
Radhakrishnan, 76, an eight-time MLA, is the most senior Congress legislator in the current Assembly.
In the election to the post of Speaker, Radhakrishnan got 101 votes, while CPI(M)’s AC Moideen got 35 votes and BJP’s BP Gopakumar got three votes.
Radhakrishnan’s election as Speaker was a foregone conclusion given that the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) has an overwhelming majority of 102 seats in the 140-member Assembly.
Interim President G Sudhakaran, who chaired the session, did not cast his vote.
After his election, Radhakrishnan was escorted to the Speaker’s podium by Chief Minister V D Sathisean and Leader of the Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan, in keeping with the Assembly’s tradition.
Chief Minister Sathisan lauded Radhakrishnan’s political and legislative achievements over the past three-and-a-half decades and said the veteran leader is suitable for the top job in the Assembly.
“From 1991 to 2011, he represented Adoor Assembly constituency, and from 2011 to the present after delimitation, he was elected from Kottayam constituency continuously. He was a model for many of us on how to work as an effective and responsible MLA in a constituency. He often traveled to his constituency from the state capital on most days to participate in events and functions there. So both inside and outside the Assembly, he was an inspiration,” the chief minister said.
Leader of the Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan said he hoped Radhakrishnan would give equal space and time to the Opposition to make its arguments, just like the treasury benches.
“His previous predecessors in the post have argued that the Speaker should show restraint in not turning to an arbiter appointed by the aggrieved side. We firmly believe that the newly appointed Speaker will not need reminding of the democratic ethos and ideals associated with the office,” Vijayan said.
In the last Assembly elections, Radhakrishnan won from Kottayam constituency, defeating K Anilkumar of the Communist Party of India (Maoist) by a margin of 35,986 votes.
This was his fourth consecutive victory from the urban seat.
He was also elected four times from Adoor in Pathanamthitta district before the constituency was reserved for the Scheduled Caste community.
Radhakrishnan previously served two terms as a minister in United Democratic Front governments – from 2004 to 2006 and again from 2011 to 2016.
During his ministerial tenure, he held several ministerial portfolios, including the Ministry of Home Affairs, Vigilance, Revenue, Forest and Health.
