Rajanikant Singh elected unopposed as Dy Speaker of Odisha Assembly

Bhubaneswar: BJD legislator from Angul, Rajanikant Singh was today elected unopposed as the Deputy Speaker of 16th Odisha Assembly.

Singh's name was proposed by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and supported in the House by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Bikram Keshari Arukha.

As there was no other candidate for the post, Odisha Assembly Speaker Surjya Narayan Patro announced the name of Singh as Deputy Speaker of the House.

On his new role, Singh said, he will work impartially to ensure that the House runs smoothly.

“I am elected as the Deputy Speaker with consensus in the House. In absence of Speaker, the House is run by the Deputy Speaker and since I have been chosen for the post, I will use all my experience to run the proceedings in a smooth manner," said Singh.

“I will work impartially and follow the rules of procedure of the State Assembly, Parliament and Constitution," he added.

Son of former MLA Late Adwaita Prasad Singh, Rajanikant is a four-time MLA from Angul since 2004. He was also a minister during the fourth term of the BJD government from 2014 to 2019.