Three in fray for the post of Goa Legislative Assembly Speaker

Panaji, June 14 (UNI) Three persons, including former Chief Minister Pratapsinh Rane, are in the fray for the post of Speaker of the fifth Goa Legislative Assembly, the election for which would be held here tomorrow.

The Legislature Secretariat received five sets of nominations for the post of Speaker at the close of receiving nominations at 1200 hrs today.

The election to the post would be held when the Assembly meets tomorrow after the 40 new members would be sworn in by the Pro-tem Speaker Aleixo Sequeira.

Three sets of nominations, proposed by the Congress-NCP alliance were in favour of former Chief Minister and nine times legislator Pratapsinh Rane.

The BJP, led by opposition leader Manohar Parrikar, proposed the name of Laxmikant Y. Parsekar while another BJP legislator Mahadev Naik proposed the name of Anil Vasudev Salgaocar (Independent) elected from Sanvordem.

The proposals could be withdrawn anytime before the commencement of the election tomorrow, legislature secretary T N Dhruv Kumar told UNI.

After the legislators were sworn in as members of the House, the Pro-tem Speaker initiates the proceedings of the election of the Speaker.

It is understood that Mr Parsekar may withdraw from the contest if Salgaocar emerges as a consensus candidate tomorrow.

Otherwise, Salgaocar may withdraw, paving way for direct fight for the post.

It may take at least two hours for completing the swearing in of the members of the new House, which will meet at 1430 hrs tomorrow.

Incidentally, Rane was the Speaker during 1999-2002 when Francisco Sardinha was the chief minister.

Mr Parsekar had been elected from the Mandrem constituency in North Goa for the second term and was the president of the BJP Goa unit earlier.

Mr Salgaocar, elected for the first time, is an industrialist and a miner.

Incidentally, Salgaocar was on record saying he had decided to support the NCP legislature wing in the Assembly.

He had also written a letter to the NCP supremo and Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar in this regard besides pledging his support for all developmental activities in Goa.

UNI