22 May,2026 01:36 PM IST | Thiruvananthapuram | mid-day online correspondent
Kerala Legislative Assembly. Pic/PTI
Senior Congress leader Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan was on Friday elected as the Speaker of the 16th Kerala Legislative Assembly.
Radhakrishnan secured 101 votes in the election held in the Assembly, comfortably defeating candidates fielded by the opposition parties.
With the completion of the election process, Pro Tem Speaker G Sudhakaran stepped down from the temporary role he had been performing since the formation of the new Assembly.
The Congress-led United Democratic Front enjoys a majority of 102 members in the 140-member Assembly, making Radhakrishnan's victory largely expected.
The CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front fielded A C Moideen for the Speaker's post, while the Bharatiya Janata Party nominated B B Gopakumar.
Moideen secured 35 votes, while Gopakumar received three votes, reflecting the strength of the LDF and BJP in the House.
Sudhakaran, who was serving as Pro Tem Speaker, did not cast his vote.
After the results were announced, MLAs across party lines congratulated Radhakrishnan inside the Assembly.
Chief Minister V D Satheesan and Leader of Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan escorted Radhakrishnan to the Speaker's chair after the formal declaration.
Sudhakaran also embraced the newly elected Speaker before returning to his seat in the House.
In his remarks, Sudhakaran described Radhakrishnan as an experienced parliamentarian and accessible political leader.
"Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan is a veteran political leader with great experience in political and parliamentary affairs," Sudhakaran said while announcing the result.
Congratulating the new Speaker, Satheesan highlighted Radhakrishnan's long political and legislative experience spanning over three decades.
He also referred to the Congress veteran's experience in handling multiple ministerial portfolios in previous Kerala governments.
Pinarayi Vijayan also praised Radhakrishnan's administrative and political experience and expressed hope that he would function impartially as the guardian of the House.
"The Speaker can only become the collective voice of the House by acknowledging the voice of the opposition," Vijayan said.
He assured the Speaker of the opposition's cooperation in conducting Assembly proceedings smoothly.
Among others who addressed the House were Industries Minister P K Kunhalikutty, CPI leader K Rajan and BJP MLA Rajeev Chandrasekhar.
Speaking on behalf of the BJP-led NDA, Chandrasekhar urged the Speaker to ensure equal opportunities for all members to raise public issues in the Assembly.
"We all should be allowed to present in the House the problems of the people who elected us," he said.
Radhakrishnan, 76, hails from Kottayam district and began his political career as a student activist before rising through the ranks of the Congress organisation.
He was associated with the Kerala Students Union and later served as state president of the Youth Congress. He also held the post of general secretary in the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee for several years.
Radhakrishnan was first elected to the Assembly from Adoor in 1991 and represented the constituency multiple times before shifting to Kottayam constituency from 2011 onwards.
Over the years, he has handled several ministerial portfolios, including Home, Revenue, Forests, Health, Parliamentary Affairs, Road Transport and Environment in various UDF governments.
The UDF had announced his candidature for the Speaker's post earlier this week, while opposition parties formally declared their candidates on Thursday.
(With inputs from PTI)
