BJP MLA Harvinder Kalyan was on Friday unanimously elected as the Speaker of the 15th Haryana Legislative Assembly, with Krishan Middha becoming his deputy in the House.
The announcement was made after pro tem Speaker Raghuvir Singh Kadiyan administered oath to the newly-elected lawmakers.
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A three-time MLA, Kalyan is considered close to Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini and Union minister Manohar Lal Khattar. He was the BJP convener for the Karnal Lok Sabha seat, from where Khattar was elected, during the parliamentary polls earlier this year.
According to party sources, Kalyan, who belongs to Ror community, was considered for a ministerial berth before the party leadership decided to make him the Speaker. His election would compensate for the lack of representation to Karnal in the council of ministers, they said.
In the 90-member House, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has won 48 seats and enjoys the support of all three Independent legislators. The principal Opposition Congress has 37 seats, while the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) has two seats.
The BJP swept back to power with its best-ever performance of 48 out of 90 seats earlier this month, even as exit polls predicted a comfortable Congress win.
