Congress leader Shanimol Usman was elected as the Deputy Speaker of the 16th Kerala Legislative Assembly on Tuesday.
She is the fourth woman to hold this position and the first in more than three decades.
In the elections held on Tuesday, Usman, the incumbent MLA from Arur in Alappuzha district and a United Democratic Front (UDF) candidate, defeated Left Democratic Front (LDF) candidate and Pattambi MLA Mohammed Mohsin.
The elections took place during the first Assembly session after the Congress-led United Democratic Front returned to power and formed the government headed by Prime Minister V D Sathisan.
Othman received 99 votes, while Mohsen received 34 votes in the 140-member council. Two MLAs from the UDF and one legislator from the LDF were absent, while three MLAs from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) abstained from the proceedings.
Speaker Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan did not cast his vote.
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Othman’s election was a foregone conclusion as the ruling United Democratic Front party enjoys an overwhelming majority of 102 members in the 140-member House of Representatives. The LDF has 35 members, while the BJP has three.
Usman (60) is a two-time MLA and a seasoned woman face in the Congress party. Although she was running for a position in the United Democratic Front government, the party eventually selected her for the position of Deputy Speaker of Parliament.
Navisath Bevi was the last Congress leader to hold the position, having served in 1960. CPI leaders Ko Ayesha Pai in 1957 and Bhargavi Thankappan in 1987 also held the position.
