AHMEDABAD: Gujarat MLA Rajendra Trivedi today filed his nomination for the post of the state Assembly Speaker and is set to be elected unanimously with opposition Congress supporting his candidature.
Trivedi filed his nomination form at the Assembly secretariat in the presence of Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel and state BJP president Jitu Vaghani, among other senior members of the party.
Trivedi, who was elected to the House on a BJP ticket, is set to become the Speaker of the newly-formed 14th Legislative Assembly on February 19, the date of election for the post, with Congress supporting his candidature.
Leader of Opposition Paresh Dhanani and other members of the Congress were also present to support Trivedi's candidature when he went to the Assembly secretariat to file his nomination.
Today was the last day of filing papers for the post and there is no other candidate in the fray.
"Chief Minister Vijay Rupani suggested my name for the post of Speaker and the opposition Congress supported it.
With no other candidate in the fray, I am set to be unanimously elected to the post," Trivedi told PTI after filing papers.
"As part of the moral protocol, I yesterday tendered my resignation from the BJP with a heavy heart," said the two- time legislator.
Trivedi was elected as the BJP MLA from Raopura Assembly constituency in Vadodara district in the December polls.
He was first elected from the constituency in 2012.
The budget session of the Gujarat Assembly will commence on February 19.
The budget will be presented the next day.