Pujari likely to be elected Speaker today

Sanand Marani front runner in Dy Speaker race

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.

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.