PORVORIM: BJP legislator Ganesh Gaonkar was on Thursday elected Speaker of the Goa Legislative Assembly after securing a majority vote during a special session of the House.
Governor P Ashok Gajapathi Raju had summoned special session of Goa legislative assembly on Thursday to elect the new Speaker, as the post had fallen vacant due to resignation of Ramesh Tawadkar, who was inducted in the Sawant-led cabinet.
In the session held on Thursday morning, Gaonkar polled 32 votes against his rival, a Congress candidate Altone D’Costa, who was supported by only seven MLAs. The opposition had fielded D’Costa, the MLA from Quepem Assembly constituency in South Goa.
The BJP, which has 28 members in the House, enjoys the support of the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party’s two legislators and three Independents.
The opposition, on the other hand, comprises of three from Congress, two from Aam Aadmi Party and one each from Goa Forward Party and Revolutionary Goans Party.
Deputy Speaker Joshua D’Souza, who chaired the proceedings of the House on Thursday, declared the 66-year-old Gaonkar as the next Speaker of the legislative Assembly.
Chief minister Pramod Sawant and Leader of Opposition Yuri Alemao escorted the newly elected Speaker to the Chair.
Both the leaders — Sawant and Alemao – later congratulated Gaonkar on being elected on this position while speaking on the floor of the House.
This would be for the second time in the tenure of the current state government that Gaonkar would occupy chair of the Assembly Speaker.
The BJP MLA was nominated as a pro-tem Speaker after his party won the 2022 Goa polls with majority seats. He had then administered oath to all the MLAs on the floor of the House.
Gaonkar is a two-time MLA in Goa Legislative Assembly.
The tribal leader was elected on BJP ticket for the first time in the year 2012 from Sanvordem constituency but was defeated by his rival Deepak Pauskar of Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) in the 2017 polls from the same constituency.
Gaonkar made his comeback in the 2022 polls from Sanvordem constituency on the BJP ticket, when the party had fought election under the leadership of Pramod Sawant.
In the current tenure, Gaonkar has been on the House committee constituted to study the issue of diversion of Mhadei river by neighbouring Karnataka.
