History in Kerala Assembly: First-ever three-way speaker election begins

Thiruvananthapuram: The election for the Speaker of the 16th Kerala Legislative Assembly has commenced. A C Moideen from the LDF and B B Gopakumar from the NDA are contesting against the UDF candidate, Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan. This marks the first time in the history of the Kerala Legislative Assembly that three candidates are in the fray for the Speaker’s post. Chief Minister V D Satheesan was the first to cast his vote in the election.

With 102 members in the House, victory is guaranteed for the UDF's Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan. The LDF has 35 members, while the NDA holds three seats. It is standard practice for the main opposition to contest the Speaker's election, regardless of how small their minority might be.

The election began at 9 am under the supervision of Pro-tem Speaker G Sudhakaran.

Once all members have cast their votes, the counting will take place in the presence of the Pro-tem Speaker and the agents of the three candidates, followed by the declaration of the winner. The newly elected Speaker will then be escorted to the chair by the Chief Minister and the Leader of the Opposition. With this, the duties of the Pro-tem Speaker will draw to a close.