Pramila Mallik, a senior leader of the Biju Janata Dal party, has been elected as the Speaker of the Odisha Assembly. This makes her the first woman to hold this position. The announcement was made by Rajanikant Singh, the Speaker in-charge, during a special session before the monsoon session of the House.
The Opposition parties, BJP and Congress, did not nominate any candidates for the Speaker’s election. Naveen Patnaik, the Chief Minister and leader of the House, proposed Pramila’s installation as the Speaker, which was seconded by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Niranjan Pujari.
After her election, Pramila was accompanied by Naveen Patnaik, Mohan Majhi (Opposition BJP chief whip), Narasingha Mishra (Congress Legislature Party leader), and other senior members to take her seat as the Speaker of the House.
In her first speech in the House, Pramila expressed gratitude to all the members and requested their cooperation for the smooth functioning of the proceedings.
