AAP’s MS Dhir elected speaker of Delhi Assembly
4 Jan 2014 6:39 AM IST
A chief warden in civil defence, Dhir defeated BJP’s Jagdish Mukhi 37-32 in the 70-member legislature – the same margin by which the AAP government won the trust vote on Thursday. Dhir was also backed by the lone Janata Dal (United) MLA Shoib Iqbal and Independent MLA Ramveer Singh Shaukeen.
Dhir, formerly working with the State Trading Corporation, got the backing of his own party (28 members), Congress (seven), the sole JD(U) member as well as an independent. The eighth Congress legislator, Mateen Ahmed, was in the chair and didn’t vote.
On the other hand, Mukhi got the backing of the BJP’s 31 legislators and the Akali Dal which has one member in the Delhi Assembly. A legislator from Jangpura, Dhir defeated Tarvinder Singh Marwah of the Congress by 1,744 votes in last month’s Delhi polls. A minority AAP government took office on 28 December after elections threw up a fractured mandate. The AAP formed government after the BJP refused to, citing its lack of majority support.
During the thanks motion, BJP senior member Saheb Singh Chauhan said that Dhir, now Speaker of the House, should tender his resignation from his post as an AAP MLA. Chauhan gave the example of GV Malavankar, who had resigned from the Congress party after he was elected as the Speaker in Lok Sabha. However, since the time the Delhi Assembly was constituted in 1993, no Speaker has resigned from the party. After his election, CM Arvind Kejriwal and BJP leader Harsh Vardhan wished Dhir good luck.
Dhir, formerly working with the State Trading Corporation, got the backing of his own party (28 members), Congress (seven), the sole JD(U) member as well as an independent. The eighth Congress legislator, Mateen Ahmed, was in the chair and didn’t vote.
On the other hand, Mukhi got the backing of the BJP’s 31 legislators and the Akali Dal which has one member in the Delhi Assembly. A legislator from Jangpura, Dhir defeated Tarvinder Singh Marwah of the Congress by 1,744 votes in last month’s Delhi polls. A minority AAP government took office on 28 December after elections threw up a fractured mandate. The AAP formed government after the BJP refused to, citing its lack of majority support.
During the thanks motion, BJP senior member Saheb Singh Chauhan said that Dhir, now Speaker of the House, should tender his resignation from his post as an AAP MLA. Chauhan gave the example of GV Malavankar, who had resigned from the Congress party after he was elected as the Speaker in Lok Sabha. However, since the time the Delhi Assembly was constituted in 1993, no Speaker has resigned from the party. After his election, CM Arvind Kejriwal and BJP leader Harsh Vardhan wished Dhir good luck.
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