Thiruvananthapuram: Congress leader and Aroor MLA Shanimol Osman was elected Deputy Speaker of the 16th Kerala Legislative Assembly on Tuesday, becoming the first woman in 35 years to occupy the constitutional post in the state.
Osman defeated CPI MLA and Left Democratic Front (LDF) candidate Muhammad Muhsin in the election held in the Assembly. Backed by the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF), which holds a comfortable majority in the 140-member House, she secured 99 votes against Muhsin’s 34.
The three BJP legislators abstained from voting, while Speaker Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan did not participate in the voting process, following Assembly convention.
Shanimol Osman represents the Aroor constituency in Alappuzha district, while her rival Muhsin is the MLA from Pattambi in Palakkad district.
The election was conducted during the first session of the 16th Kerala Legislative Assembly, which began on May 21. Earlier, senior Congress leader Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan was elected Speaker with 101 votes.
With her victory, Kerala gets a woman Deputy Speaker after a gap of more than three decades. Osman is only the fourth woman to hold the position in the state’s legislative history.
The Assembly session resumed on Tuesday without Question Hour. However, proceedings included Zero Hour, Calling Attention motions and Adjournment Motions. Key issues expected to be discussed include displacement at Malayidam Thuruthu, pre-monsoon sanitation measures and the recent rise in fuel prices.
