Ahead of the election of the next Speaker, the newly elected Thattanchavady MLA, K. Venkatesan of the DMK, was sworn in on Wednesday.
Deputy Speaker V.P Sivakolundhu administered the oath to Mr. Venkatesan at a function in the Legislative Assembly.
The seat, considered a bastion of AINRC founder and former Chief Minister N. Rangasamy, was won by Mr. Venkatesan by a margin of 1,539 votes. While Mr. Venkatesan polled 10,906 votes, AINRC nominee P. Nedounzejiane bagged 9,367 votes. The election of Mr. Venkatesan helped DMK increase its tally in the Assembly to 3.
Meanwhile, the Congress-DMK combine has geared up for the election of new Speaker following the victory of V. Vaithilingam in the Lok Sabha election from the lone seat in U.T.
Speaker’s election
Sources in the government said the Lieutenant Governor had been advised to convene the Assembly at the earliest to elect the new Speaker. The government wanted to complete the process before Mr. Vaithilingam ceases to be a member of the Assembly. He has 15 days to resign as MLA.
“In case, the Opposition puts up a candidate, there will be an election. If the Assembly session is held at the earliest, Mr. Vaithilingam can participate in the voting process,” said the source.
Parliamentary Secretary to Chief Minister K. Lakshminarayanan is the front runner for the post. Deputy Speaker V.P Sivakolundhu and government whip R.K.R Ananantharaman are said to be in the race.
