The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has nominated Bhavani Bhoi as its candidate for the post of Deputy Speaker in the Odisha Assembly. The announcement was made on the second day of the budget session in the Assembly today.
Bhavani Bhoi, a two-time BJP MLA from Banasara Assembly Constituency, will submit his nomination papers to the Assembly Secretary later today. The election for the Deputy Speaker post is scheduled to take place tomorrow, July 24.The post of Deputy Speaker fell vacant after Surma Padhi, a leader from Ranpur and former minister, took over as the new Speaker of the Odisha Assembly. The opposition Biju Janata Dal has not nominated anyone for the post of Deputy Speaker yet.
Bhavani Bhoi’s defeated BJD MLA candidate Stephen Wilson Soreng by around 15,000 votes in 2019 and BJD candidate Binaya Kumar Tapu by around 17,000 votes in 2024.The election for the Deputy Speaker post is expected to be a formality, with Bhoi likely to take up the position tomorrow.