BJP's Surama Padhy unanimously elected Speaker of Odisha's 17th Legislative Assembly

"I am very happy that the party gave me the responsibility of the Speaker post. I will ensure that the government remains accountable to the people of Odisha. I have worked both as an MLA and Minister before. I will work with an open mind. I respect the Opposition which comprises many senior leaders and expect that they will work to take Odisha forward," Odisha Assembly Speaker Surama Padhy said speaking to ANI on Thursday.

Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Ranpur MLA Surama Padhy unanimously elected as the Speaker of Odisha's 17th Legislative Assembly. "I am very happy that the party gave me the responsibility of the Speaker post. I will ensure that the government remains accountable to the people of Odisha. I have worked both as an MLA and Minister before. I will work with an open mind. I respect the Opposition which comprises many senior leaders and expect that they will work to take Odisha forward," Odisha Assembly Speaker Surama Padhy said speaking to ANI on Thursday.

Surama Padhy defeated Biju Janata Dal's Satyanarayan Pradhan by a margin of 15544 votes in the recently held Assembly polls held simultaneously with the Lok Sabha elections. Earlier on Wednesday, former Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik was elected Leader of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) Legislature Party and will be the Leader of the Opposition in the state assembly.

A meeting of the newly-elected BJD MLAs was held on Wednesday. The BJD lost the assembly polls and BJP has formed its first government in the state. Earlier last week, Mohan Charan Majhi took oath as the Chief Minister of the first Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Odisha, in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo and Pravati Parida, have been appointed Deputy Chief Ministers.BJP secured 78 seats in the 147-seat assembly. The BJD won 51 seats and Congress won 14 seats.

Assembly polls in Odisha were held simultaneously with Lok Sabha polls.BJP performed well in Lok Sabha polls also and won 20 out of the 21 seats. Congress won one seat. (ANI)

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