It was an expected outcome, but there was a twist in the tale when P. Sreeramakrishnan of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) was elected Speaker of the Kerala Assembly on Friday with 92 votes, two votes more than what the Left Democratic Front (LDF) could normally have hoped for.
Mr. Sreeramakrishnan defeated his United Democratic Front’s (UDF) Congress rival V.P. Sajeendran by 92 to 46 votes, with the UDF nominee getting one vote less than the actual strength of the UDF in the House.
Lone Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) member O. Rajagopal voted for the LDF candidate.
He later explained that he had cast vote for Mr. Sreeramakrishnan heeding Leader of the Opposition Ramesh Chennithala’s statement on Thursday that the UDF did not require the BJP member’s vote.
“The NDA stand here is not one of blind support or blind opposition of either of the alliances,” Mr. Rajagopal said.
Pro tem Speaker S. Sarma of the CPI(M) did not cast his vote. Since it was secret ballot, the pro tem Speaker gave strict directives to television cameramen against zooming on the voting process.
George’s stand
Independent member P.C. George, who reached the Assembly fighting all the three main alliances, did not mark his preference in the ballot. He merely folded the ballot paper and put it in the box, leaving his vote invalid. Mr. Sajeendran’s name figured first in the ballot paper and Mr. Sreeramakrishnan’s name came second.
The LDF’s strength in the House is 91 to UDF’s 47. Mr. Rajagopal and Mr. George make up the remaining two members of the House. Since Mr. Sarma did not vote, the LDF candidate would have normally got only 90 votes and since Mr. George did not mark his preference, the total valid votes would only have been 138. Of this, 92 votes were won by the 48-year-old Mr. Sreeramakrishnan, who was elected to the Assembly for the second term from Ponnani in Malappuram district.
On being elected, Mr. Sreeramakrishnan was led to the dais by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Leader of the Opposition Ramesh Chennithala. Leaders of parties and Mr. Sajeendran offered felicitations to the new Speaker.
Mr. Vijayan described the new Speaker as mild-mannered and soft-spoken and felt that his disposition would help manage the business in the House in a smooth manner.
He hoped that the Speaker would function in a dispassionate manner, protect the rights of all members and uphold the democratic values nurtured since the formation of the Assembly.
Mr. Chennithala promised full cooperation and said the Opposition would take due care to ensure that unruly incidents which took place (during the budget presentation) in the 13th Assembly would not recur. The Assembly has set a national model through many progressive legislations and unique conduct.
This as well as the rights of all members should be protected.
Mr. Sreeramakrishnan later told reporters that he would try to maintain peace and equilibrium in the Assembly and would not resort to use of watch and ward for conducting the proceedings.
