PANAJI
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) finally made public its choice for the Speaker's post -- Sanvordem MLA Ganesh Gaonkar.
Gaonkar, who incidentally was the pro-tem Speaker after the 2022 elections, filed his papers at the office of the Legislature Secretary, Namrata Ulman in the Assembly Complex on Tuesday morning.
The formality became a display of power-play by the ruling coalition with Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, his cabinet colleagues and several legislators from the treasury benches making their presence felt as Gaonkar filed his papers.
He is expected to be elected on the back of the BJP government's brute 33-7 majority in the House of 40. All the three Independent legislators are also backing the ruling party.
Despite the writing on the wall the feeble seven-member Opposition has refused to cow down and decided to contest the election which will be held at a special session of the Goa legislative assembly convened for Thursday (September 25).
The Opposition has fielded Congress' Quepem MLA Altone D’Costa who filed his nomination nearly a fortnight ago.
The election to the Speaker's post used to formerly be held by a secret ballot until the rules were amended in 1995 to have it by a 'show of hands' following Tomazinho Cardozo-Surendra Sirsat tussle which ended in bedlam and the House aborting the vote.
