Pujari likely to be elected Speaker today

Sanand Marani front runner in Dy Speaker race

Bs_logoImage
BS Reporter Bhubaneswar
Last Updated : May 25 2014 | 9:21 PM IST
With Biju Janata Dal (BJD), which won 1,117 of the 147 assembly in the recent polls, finalising the name of its candidate for the Speaker's post, the race has now heated up for the election of Deputy Speaker, for which names of some senior leaders of the ruling party are doing the rounds.

Heading the BJD's list of candidates for this constitutional job is Baripada MLA and tribal leader Sanand Marandi.

Senior leaders in BJD, however, were tight lipped about the Deputy Speaker candidate, but sources said, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik might select three-time MLA Marandi for the post.

Also Read

Leaders from western Odisha, such as former ministers, Rajnikant Singh, Subrat Tarai and Pallahara MLA, Mahesh Sahu are also in the race for the Deputy Speaker position. The party has, meanwhile, selected Niranjan Pujari, to chair the state assembly sessions. Pujari is likely to be elected as Speaker unopposed as the ruling party has massive majority in the newly constituted assembly. Opposition parties Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have 16 and 10 legislators respectively.

Pujari is a four-time legislator and was re-elected from Sonepur constituency recently. He was a cabinet minister the Naveen's government during 2011-14 and held charges of the departments of industries, excise, food supplies and consumer welfare, and science and technology.

The party started searching for Speaker's candidate soon former Speaker, Pradeep Amat was inducted the government as finance minister. As many senior leaders of the party have either been denied tickets or lost the election this time, there was speculation that the party might consider new faces, probably a female candidate, for the post.
Subscribe to Business Standard digital and get complimentary access to The New York Times

Smart Quarterly

₹900

3 Months

₹300/Month

SAVE 25%

Smart Essential

₹2,700

1 Year

₹225/Month

SAVE 46%

Super Saver

₹3,900

2 Years

₹162/Month

Subscribe

Renews automatically, cancel anytime

Here’s what’s included in our digital subscription plans

Access to Exclusive Premium Stories

  • Over 30 subscriber-only stories daily, handpicked by our editors

Complimentary Access to The New York Times

  • News, Games, Cooking, Audio, Wirecutter & The Athletic

Business Standard Epaper

  • Digital replica of our daily newspaper — with options to read, save, and share

Curated Newsletters

  • Insights on markets, finance, politics, tech, and more delivered to your inbox

Market Analysis & Investment Insights

  • In-depth market analysis & insights with access to The Smart Investor

Archives

  • Repository of articles and publications dating back to 1997

Ad-free Reading

  • Uninterrupted reading experience with no advertisements

Seamless Access Across All Devices

  • Access Business Standard across devices — mobile, tablet, or PC, via web or app

More From This Section

First Published: May 25 2014 | 8:12 PM IST