By IANS,
Raipur : Dharamlal Kaushik, a legislator of Chhattisgarh’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), was elected speaker of the state assembly Monday. The goverenor also administered oath of office to all newly elected legislators during the maiden sitting of the third assembly.
Kaushik, an influential leader of the Other Backward Classes (OBCs), won the Bilha assembly seat in Bilaspur district in the November assembly polls. He was elected speaker unopposed amid desk-thumping and cheers by legislators of even the opposition Congress and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).
The BJP won 50 seats in the 90-member assembly, while the Congress and the BSP bagged 38 and two seats respectively, in the two-phase assembly polls held Nov 14 and 20. The election results were declared Dec 8.
Chief Minister Raman Singh and Leader of Opposition Ravindra Chaubey hailed the election of Kaushik as speaker and both of them accompanied him to the speaker’s chair.
As the house met at noon, Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan administered oath as pro-tem speaker to Bodhram Kanwar, one of the senior most members of the house, elected for the seventh time from Katghora seat in Korba district.
Kanwar administered the oath to newly-elected legislators, including Raman Singh, Leader of Opposition Chaubey and 11 cabinet ministers.
Wheelchair-bound Congress leader and Chhattisgarh’s first chief minister Ajit Jogi, who was elected in the November polls from Marwahi seat in Bilaspur district, also took oath as member of the house.
Jogi last week vacated his Lok Sabha seat – Mahasamund constituency – that he won in the 2004 general polls. His wife, Renu Jogi, who retained her Kota seat in the recent assembly elections, also took oath.