THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Senior Congress leader Shanimol Usman has been elected as the Deputy Speaker of the 16th Kerala Assembly. It's after close to three-a-half-decades after that the assembly is getting a woman deputy speaker.
The Aroor MLA was elected at the election held in the assembly on Tuesday (June 2,2026). Shanimol, who contested for the ruling UDF, defeated CPI's Pattambi MLA Mohammed Muhsin, who was opposition LDF's pick for deputy speaker.
While Shanimol polled 99 votes, Muhsin got 34 votes. While the three BJP legislators abstained from voting, three MLAs - two from UDF and one from LDF - were absent from the House on Tuesday. Speaker Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan chose not to cast his vote.
