Eight-time MLA Ranendra Pratap Swain (70), the senior most lawmaker elected on BJD ticket in the recently concluded Assembly polls, was administered oath as the Pro-tem Speaker of Odisha Assembly by Governor Raghuvar Das on Friday in Raj Bhavan.
Swain, a former minister and BJD stalwart, will be the Pro-tem Speaker till the regular Speaker elections on June 20, official sources said.
The new Chief Minister, Mohan Charan Majhi among others attended the Pro-tem speaker’s oath-taking ceremony at the Raj Bhawan.
“The newly elected members of the assembly will be administered oath by the Pro-tem Speaker Swain for two days on 18 and 19 June. The nomination for the Speaker election will be received at 11 am on 19 June,” said an official of the State Assembly.
Meanwhile, senior BJP leader and former minister Surama Padhy is tipped to be the next Speaker of the Odisha Legislative Assembly as BJP is understood to have selected her name for the constitutional post. In all probability, she may be elected unopposed.
The BJP emerged victorious in the 2024 Assembly polls and formed the government in Odisha by securing 78 seats in the 147-member Odisha Assembly. The BJD managed to secure 51 seats while Congress won 14 seats followed by Independents three and one seat by CPI (M).
In a related development, independent winners have decided to extend support to BJP, taking the party’s strength to 81 in the Assembly, said BJP sources.