Radhakrishnan elected new Speaker

Thiruvananthapuram, May 25 (UNI) Forty three-year-old K Radhakrishnan of CPI(M) was today elected as the Speaker of the 12th Legislative assembly in Kerala.

He defeated Mr Murali of the Congress by 93 votes against 40.

Known for his affable behavior and sincere approach to issues, Radhakrishnan was first elected to the assembly in 1996 and became minister for welfare of Backward and Scheduled Communities in the E K Nayanar Government.

In the previous assembly, he was the chief whip of the Opposition Marxist-led Left Democratic Front(LDF). He is representing Chelakara in the assembly for the third consecutive term.

Pro-tem Speaker V J Thankappan was in the Chair when voting began at 0900 hrs. Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan was the first to cast his ballot.

After the results were announced, Mr Achuthanandan and former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy led Mr Radhakrishnan to the Speaker's chair.

Congratulating the new Speaker, Mr Achuthanandan said Mr Radhakrishnan was the first Speaker in the House representing a scheduled community.

Mr Chandy said that Mr Radhakrishanan's performance in the past one decade as a member of the House won him accolades from all sections. He suggested that the Speaker allot more time in the House to discuss matters concerning the common man and issues like the financial position of the state.

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