Agartala, March 18 BJP MLA Ram Pada Jamatia was unopposed elected as the new Speaker of the Tripura Assembly on Wednesday, filling the vacancy created by the death of Biswa Bandhu Sen.
Jamatia, a legislator from the Bagma constituency in the Gomati district, had filed his nomination for the post on Tuesday.
Chief Minister Manik Saha proposed Jamatia's name in the Assembly on Wednesday, which was approved by a voice vote amidst silence from the opposition benches.
Besides BJP MLAs, legislators from the Tipra Motha Party (TMP) and the Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura (IPFT), allies of the BJP-led coalition government, also supported the proposal.
Saha, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ratan Lal Nath, Leader of the Opposition Jitendra Chaudhury, and Congress Legislature Party leader Birajit Sinha escorted Jamatia to the Speaker's chair.
Responding to his election as Speaker, Jamatia expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP national president Nitin Nabin, and BJP state chief Rajib Bhattacharjee for giving him the opportunity.
"I am also thankful to all members, including opposition MLAs. I will try my level best to run the Assembly impartially," he told reporters.
