Kagodu Thimmappa elected speaker of Karnataka assembly

Veteran Congress leader Kagodu Thimmappa, 82, was Friday unanimously elected speaker of the Karnataka assembly.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah proposed Thimmappa's name and Parliamentary Affairs Minister T.B. Jayachandra seconded it.

As the opposition parties did not put up a candidate, Thimmappa was declared elected by pro-tem speaker Malikayya Guttedar, who conducted the house proceedings for two days.

Thimmappa's election came on the third day of the first session of the state's 14th assembly.

Soon after he was chosen, the octogenarian was escorted to the speaker's chair by Siddaramaiah and the leader of opposition H.D. Kumaraswamy of Janata Dal-Secular (JDS), amidst cheers from other members.

The Congress party has 122 seats in the 225-member assembly that has one nominated member. The JDS and Bharatiya Janata Party won 40 seats each, while the rest were won by smaller parties and Independents.