Former minister Ratan Chakraborty on Friday was elected unopposed as the Speaker of Tripura Assembly.
Chakraborty’s predecessor Rebati Mohan Das abruptly quit the post earlier this month, citing “personal reasons”.
Tripura Assembly Deputy Speaker Biswa Bandhu Sen, who was a strong contender for the post, announced Chakraborty’s name as the Speaker of the House on the opening day of the Monsoon Session.
Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb and opposition leader and former Chief Minister Manik Sarkar formally escorted the new Speaker to his chair.
Assembly Secretary Bishnu Pada Karmakar said that Chakraborty was the only candidate whose nomination papers had been submitted till Thursday, the last date.
The main opposition CPI-M, which has 16-members in the 60-member Assembly, did not contest the election.
Chakraborty said that he would perform his new responsibility with all his sincerity and ability.
“After around three decades, I have been chosen for a constitutional post, and for this, I am grateful to Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb,” Chakraborty said.
The choice of the three-time MLA for the post is considered significant as Sen and a few other BJP MLAs were also said to be contenders for the post.
Chakraborty, who joined the BJP in 2017 and was elected from the Khayerpur constituency in 2018 polls, is a former minister in the Congress-led government (1988-1993).