Bhatkal MLA Mankal Vaidya elected Karnataka Assembly Deputy Speaker

Bengaluru: Congress MLA from Bhatkal Mankal Vaidya, a former minister, was on Tuesday elected as the Deputy Speaker of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly.

Vaidya was elected unanimously after Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar proposed his name and Minister Laxman Savadi seconded the proposal. Following a voice vote, Assembly Speaker G.S. Patil declared Vaidya elected to the post.

The Deputy Speaker's post had fallen vacant after Rudrappa Lamani resigned from the position following his induction into the Shivakumar-led Karnataka Cabinet during its recent expansion.

Vaidya's election comes shortly after his name was dropped from the list of ministers during the Cabinet expansion. The Bhatkal MLA, who had served as Ports and Fisheries Minister in the previous Siddaramaiah government, was initially included among the Congress legislators selected for induction into the expanded Cabinet.

However, Vaidya was subsequently replaced by former minister S.S. Mallikarjun in the final list. No official reason was given for the change.

The Congress had earlier named A.S. Ponnanna as its nominee for the Deputy Speaker's post. Ponnanna was subsequently appointed as Political Secretary to Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar with Cabinet minister rank.

With Vaidya's election, the Bhatkal MLA has now been given a key constitutional position in the Legislative Assembly after being left out of the recent Cabinet expansion.