Thiruvananthapuram, May 20: Veteran legislator and former CPM leader G. Sudhakaran has been appointed as the Protem Speaker of the Kerala Assembly. On Wednesday, Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar administered the oath at the Lok Bhavan. Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan and his cabinet colleagues were present at the ceremony.
As Protem Speaker, Sudhakaran will administer the oath to 139 newly elected legislators on Thursday. However, his term will last only until Friday when the new Speaker is elected. Senior Congress leader T. Irshad Radhakrishnan is likely to be elected as Speaker, given the significant majority of votes in favor of the ruling coalition.
Currently, the UDF holds 102 seats in the Assembly, while the Left Democratic Front (LDF) has seen its numbers drop to 35. The BJP has opened its account with three seats.
Sudhakaran was nominated as Protem Speaker by the state cabinet on Monday. He was once one of the most influential faces of the CPM in South Kerala. However, he severed ties with the party before the elections and contested as an independent, winning his seat.
He made the decision to run against the official party line. A seasoned strategist and former minister, Sudhakaran contested from his traditional constituency of Ambalapuzha. Following his decision to run as an independent candidate, the Congress-led UDF extended its full support to him.
Beyond procedural formalities, all eyes are now on the behavior of CPM legislators in the Assembly as Sudhakaran takes the Protem Speaker’s chair.
Earlier on Monday, Congress leader V.D. Satheesan took the oath as Chief Minister of Kerala, administered by Governor R.V. Arlekar. Alongside Satheesan, 21 members took their oaths as ministers and for confidentiality.
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