R V Deshpande to be pro-tem Speaker in Karnataka Legislative Assembly

The legislature secretariat has recommended the name of R V Deshpande as pro-tem speaker of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly. The name of Deshpande, a Congress MLA was recommend after taking into consideration that he is the senior most member of the House.

The recommendation will now be sent to the Governor who give his stamp of approval.

A pro-tem speaker is the one who operates as a temporary speaker. To conduct the work in the Centre or in state legislatures, a pro-tem speaker is appointed for a limited period. When a new assembly is elected, but the vote for the speaker or deputy speaker has not taken place, the pro-tem speaker is chosen. A pro-tem speaker is chosen with the agreement of the members of the legislative assembly so that he can carry on the activities till the permanent speaker is chosen.

The convention is that the senior most member of the House is chosen as a pro-tem speaker. Further it would also be taken into account that he or she is not likely to be the speaker candidate and also should not be a minister.

The current strength of the House is 222 and the magic number is 112. The Congress-JD(S) claim that together they have the support of 116 MLAs. The BJP is 8 short with 104 MLAs. The pro-tem speaker will be the one who will conduct the House and it is he would take a call on whether the trust vote should be held through a voice vote or ballot.