Veteran Congress leader Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan was on Friday elected Speaker of the 16th Kerala Legislative Assembly. 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) leader AC Moideen got 35 votes and BJP MLA BB Gopakumar got three votes. The Congress-led United Democratic Front’s numerical strength of 102 members in the 140-member House made Radhakrishnan’s election a foregone conclusion. Interim President G Sudhakaran, who chaired the session, did not vote.
After his election, Radhakrishnan was escorted to the Speaker’s chair by Chief Minister V D Sathisean and Leader of the Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan, in keeping with the Assembly’s tradition.
Lauding Radhakrishnan’s political and legislative career spanning over three decades, Sathisan said the veteran leader was well-suited to occupy the highest constitutional post 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.
Vijayan expressed hope that the new Speaker would provide equal opportunity to the opposition to present its views in the House.
“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 strongly believe that the newly appointed Speaker will not need a reminder of the democratic ethos and ideals associated with the office,” Vijayan said.
In the last Assembly elections, Radhakrishnan retained the Kottayam constituency by defeating CPI(M)’s K Anilkumar by 35,986 votes. This was his fourth consecutive win from the seat.
Before Kottayam, he represented Adoor constituency in Pathanamthitta district four times before it was allotted to the Scheduled Caste community.
Radhakrishnan previously served as a minister in the United Democratic Front governments from 2004 to 2006 and again from 2011 to 2016, holding posts including the Ministry of Home Affairs, Vigilance, Revenue, Forest and Health.
