BANGALORE: The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party's K.G. Bopaiah was Wednesday elected Karnataka assembly speaker amid protests by opposition Congress and Janata Dal-Secular parties.
Congress and JD-S members trooped into the well of the house and began shouting as the poll process started. They demanded the poll to be put off in view of the death of Kannada film superstar Vishnuvardhan earlier in the day.
The matinee idol, 59, died following massive heart failure in Mysore, about 140 km from here, in the wee hours.
In the midst of shouting, Bopaiah, who was the deputy speaker, was declared elected.
The opposition parties had fielded T.B. Jayachandra of the Congress to take on Bopaiah in the elections to fill the vacancy caused by Jagadish Shettar quitting the post to join Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa's cabinet in November.
The first action of Bopaiah as speaker of the 225-member house was to adjourn the assembly sine die, a day ahead of the scheduled end to the 10-day session.