TDP’s Ayyannapatrudu poised for unanimous election as Speaker in Andhra

Amaravati, Jun 21 (PTI) TDP legislator C Ayyannapatrudu is poised to be elected unanimously as the Speaker of Andhra Pradesh’s 16th Legislative Assembly as no other MLA has filed a nomination to challenge him.

Secretary General of the Legislative Assembly PPK Ramacharyulu confirmed that nominations for the Speaker’s post were received only on behalf of TDP’s Narsipatnam MLA Ayyannapatrudu.

“All the nominations were received for Ayyannapatrudu. Three nominations were filed on his behalf,” Ramacharyulu told PTI, adding that no nominations were filed on behalf of anyone else for the Speaker's post.

He said that the official announcement of Ayyannapatrudu’s election would be made on Saturday.

Earlier, TDP General Secretary Nara Lokesh, Jana Sena chief Pawan Kalyan and others filed nominations for the Speaker's post on behalf of Ayyannapatrudu.

The maiden session of the 16th Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly began on Friday with 171 newly-elected legislators taking the oath of office.

According to the secretary general, 171 MLAs were administered the oath of office by Pro-tem Speaker and TDP legislator G Butchaiah Chowdary, who himself was administered the oath of office by Governor S Abdul Nazeer on Thursday in the Raj Bhavan.

Altogether, Ramacharyulu confirmed that 172 MLAs, including the chief minister, have taken oath until now.

Following the swearing-in ceremony, the Pro-tem Speaker adjourned the House till 10.30 am on Saturday.

The assembly session commenced at 9.45 am on Friday in the Assembly Hall located at Velagapudi, Amravati.

Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu attended the session on Friday, after more than two-and-a-half years.

In 2021, Naidu had vowed not to return to the state assembly until he became the chief minister, after some YSRCP leaders had made allegedly objectionable remarks about his family.

Actor-Politician Kalyan entered the House for the first time in his 16-year-old political career, as Pithapuram MLA and deputy chief minister.

CM and Kuppam MLA Naidu was the first to take oath followed by Deputy CM Kalyan and other MLAs.

After taking oath, Naidu went to the Pro-tem Speaker's chair and exchanged pleasantries.

YSRCP chief Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy also attended the session and took oath as an MLA.

The NDA alliance swept the 2024 Andhra Pradesh Assembly elections by winning 164 seats in the 175-member House. PTI STH ANE