Surama Padhy takes charge as Speaker of Odisha Assembly

TNI Bureau: Two-time BJP MLA from Ranpur, Surama Padhy was unanimously elected as the Speaker of the 17th Assembly on Thursday.

She is the second woman after Pramila Mallick to hold the Speaker post in the Odisha Legislative Assembly.

BJP’s Surama Padhy defeated Satyanarayan Pradhan of Biju Janata Dal by a margin of 15,544 votes from Ranpur Assembly seat in the recently concluded elections.

Padhy’s name was proposed for the Speaker’s post by Odisha CM Mohan Charan Majhi.

She was a Minister of State for Cooperation with Independent charge in the BJD-BJP alliance Government in Odisha in 2004.