BJP MLA Vishweshwar Kageri Becomes Karnataka Legislative Assembly Speaker

The six-time MLA and former Karnataka education minister, Kageri took over the post after being unopposed by any other candidate or member of the assembly.

New Delhi: Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri has been elected the Karnataka Legislative Speaker on Wednesday after being the only candidate to file nomination for the post that was vacated by KR Ramesh Kumar.

With the conclusion of the dramatic floor test in Karnataka, Ramesh Kumar resigned shortly after the three-day-old BS Yediyurappa ministry won the vote of confidence in the Assembly on Monday defeating the 14-month-long tenure under the Congress-JDS coalition.

The six-time MLA and former Karnataka education minister took over the post after being unopposed by any other candidate or member of the Assembly. A Congress spokesperson told PTI that it would not field a candidate as it went against the convention of electing the Speaker unopposed.

Kageri began his political career in the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad as an active member of the student wing of Sangh Pariwar. He was first elected to the Assembly from the Ankola constituency in 1994 where he represented thrice till 2008.

After the delimitation of constituencies in Karnataka, he shifted to Sirsi and won from the seat in 2008, 2013 and 2018.

With inputs from agencies