Surama Padhy becomes Odisha Assembly Speaker unanimously

Bhubaneswar, May 20: Surama Padhy, a two-time MLA representing BJP from Ranpur, has been unanimously elected as the Speaker of the Odisha Legislative Assembly on Thursday, as no other nominations were filed from different political parties.

Padhy is now the second woman to hold this prestigious position in the Odisha Legislative Assembly, following Pramila Mallik.

She submitted her nomination for the Speaker's role on Wednesday, accompanied by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, Deputy CMs K V Singhdeo, Pravati Parida, and other BJP MLAs.

Chief Minister Majhi reportedly approached BJD president Naveen Patnaik to seek support for Padhy's candidature.

Previously, BJD leader Pramila made history as the first woman Speaker of the Odisha Legislative Assembly in September 2023.

Padhy was initially elected to the Odisha Assembly from the Ranpur constituency in Nayagarh district on a BJP ticket in 2004. She also served as a minister of state in the BJD-BJP coalition government in Odisha from 2004 to 2009.