BJP to contest Kerala Speaker election for first time, fields newly elected MLA Gopakumar

Thiruvananthapuram: The BJP, which won three seats in the Kerala Assembly for the first time, will field its candidate in the election for the Speaker's post, state party president Rajeev Chandrasekhar said on Thursday.

The party has decided to field B B Gopakumar, the newly elected MLA from the Chathannoor seat in Kollam district, for the post, he told reporters here.

The election to the Speaker's post will be held on Friday. While the Congress-led UDF has announced veteran leader Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan as its candidate for the post, the opposition LDF has not announced its candidate so far.


BJP's three MLAs in the State Assembly are Gopakumar, V Muraleedharan and Chandrasekhar himself.

"For the first time in the history of Kerala politics, there will be a BJP candidate in the election to the post. Gopakumar will be the BJP candidate. His name will be proposed by myself and Muraleedharan," Chandrasekhar said.

Chandrasekhar, who has often accused the CPI(M)-led LDF and the Congress-led UDF of practising adjustment politics in Kerala, alleged that there had so far been no opposition MLA in the State Assembly.

"To change all this, we three MLAs are taking oath today. We are starting our work from today," he said, while heading to the State Assembly to take oath as MLA.

Ahead of taking oath as members of the Legislative Assembly, the BJP MLAs-designate paid floral tributes at the Palayam Martyrs' Memorial here.