After the finalisation of Karnataka Chief Minister and its cabinet, Congress leader UT Khader was nominated as the Speaker of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly on Monday. UT Khader won the Vidhan Sabha election for the fifth time. He is likely to file a nomination for the post on Tuesday morning.
Formalities of signing the nomination papers extending support to the leader will be done by CM Siddaramaiah and Deputy CM DK Shivakumar.
The nomination has come as a surprise as there were rumours of names like RV Deshpande, TB Jayachandra, and HK Patil to be announced as the next Speaker of the Karnataka Assembly. According to reports, State Congress in-charge Randeep Singh Surjewala and National General Secretary KC Venugopal met UT Khader and discussed the matter with him.
The senior Congress leader held the position of deputy opposition leader in the last assembly. This year he won the election from Mangalore Constituency in Dakshin Kannada district. During the cabinet reshuffle scheduled to take place after two years, UT Khader was promised to offer a ministerial position by the Congress party, reports local media.
The nomination of UT Khader for the role of speaker reflects Congress' focus on providing opportunities to minority community leaders. The party is also trying to maintain their representation in important positions.
Karnataka's victory worked as a major morale booster for the Congress and the rest of the opposition parties. The oath-taking ceremony of the Karnataka CM and cabinet turned into a show of opposition strength when several opposition leaders including, Bihar CM Nitesh Kumar, Tamil Nadu CM M K Stalin, NCP leader Sharad Kumar, etc.
The opposition is actively trying to unite to prepare for the Lok Sabha election 2024. Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal on Monday said that the opposition will hold a meeting with a large number of opposition leaders soon. As of now, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is leading the charge of uniting the opposition parties against the Bharatiya Janata Party ahead of next year's Lok Sabha Polls.
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