TVK legislator JCD Prabhakar was on Tuesday unanimously elected Speaker of the Tamil Nadu Assembly after emerging as the sole nominee for the post.
Prabhakar's nomination was proposed by Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay and as his was the only nomination received for the Speaker's post, he has been unanimously elected unopposed, Pro-Tem Speaker M V Karuppaiah said when the Assembly convened for the election.
Following the announcement, Karuppaiah said his tenure as Pro-Tem Speaker had come to an end.
He then invited Leader of the House K A Sengottaiyan and Leader of the Opposition Udhayanidhi Stalin to escort the newly elected Speaker to the Chair, in accordance with Assembly tradition.
Sengottaiyan and Udhayanidhi congratulated Prabhakar before escorting him to the Speaker’s Chair positioned at the centre of the House, flanked by treasury and opposition benches on either side.
Soon after assuming office, Prabhakar conducted the election for the Deputy Speaker’s post.
He informed the House that TVK MLA from Thuraiyur, M Ravisankar, was the lone candidate to file nomination papers for the post and that his candidature was proposed by Sengottaiyan.
In the absence of any contest, Ravishankar was declared elected unopposed as Deputy Speaker.
Felicitating the Speaker, Udhayanidhi Stalin, AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami, former minister S P Velumani and leaders of various political parties highlighted Prabhakar’s vast political experience and urged him to remain impartial while providing opportunities to Opposition members in the House.
Responding to the remarks, Prabhakar assured members that he would conduct the proceedings in an impartial manner. He also hailed Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay on his electoral victory, describing him as a “living MGR”.