Mankal Vaidya Unanimously Elected Deputy Speaker of Karnataka Assembly
Vaidya handled Ports and Fisheries portfolio in the previous Siddaramaiah government
Bengaluru: Congress MLA and former minister Mankal Vaidya was on Tuesday elected as the Deputy Speaker of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly.
Vaidya's name was proposed by Chief Mister D K Shivakumar and was seconded by minister Laxman Savadi.
Speaker G S Patil then declared Vaidya as elected "unanimously", after a voice vote.
The deputy Speaker post fell vacant after Rudrappa Lamani resigned following his induction into Shivakumar-led cabinet in its expansion a few days ago.
Interestingly, the AICC had earlier named Congress MLA A S Ponnanna as the party's nominee for deputy Speaker's post, but he was subsequently appointed Political Secretary to the CM, with the status of a cabinet minister.
The party had initially included Bhatkal MLA Vaidya, who was a minister in the Siddaramaiah cabinet, among the names to be inducted into the Shivakumar-led cabinet ahead of its expansion on August 3, but he was subsequently replaced by S S Mallikarjun, also a former minister. No official reason has been cited for replacing Vaidya.
Vaidya handled Ports and Fisheries portfolio in the previous Siddaramaiah government.
