The stage is set for a significant political showdown in the newly-formed Kerala Legislative Assembly, as all major fronts gear up for Friday’s Speaker election. The Congress-led UDF holds a comfortable numerical advantage in the 140-member House, with 102 seats on the Treasury Bench, while the Left has 35 and the BJP three. Senior Congress leader Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan is the UDF’s nominee for Speaker, facing competition from the LDF’s A.C. Moideen and the BJP’s B.B. Gopakumar.
Both the Left Democratic Front and the BJP are vying for a strong political presence in the new Assembly by contesting the Speaker election. The LDF has put forward A.C. Moideen, a former minister and senior CPI(M) leader, while the BJP has made history by nominating first-time MLA B.B. Gopakumar from Chathannoor. This marks the BJP’s debut in a Speaker election in Kerala’s legislative history.
The BJP legislators Rajeev Chandrasekhar and V. Muraleedharan will propose B.B. Gopakumar’s candidature for the Speaker election. Alongside the Speaker election, the Deputy Speaker election is also scheduled for Friday, with the UDF nominating Shanimol Usman for the post. The swearing-in ceremony of the newly-elected MLAs was a mix of formality, political gestures, and emotional moments, with proceedings led by Pro-tem Speaker G. Sudhakaran.
