Bhubaneswar, Nov 20 (IANS) BJD leader and G. Udayagiri MLA Saluga Pradhan on Monday filed his nomination for the post of Deputy Speaker of Odisha Assembly. He is all set to become the next Deputy Speaker of the state Assembly as the BJD holds a clear majority in the House.

“I will ensure the House runs smoothly by following the advice and opinion of the senior members of the Assembly. I will try to run House proceedings by taking into consideration the opinions of both the ruling and Opposition parties,” said Pradhan.

Pradhan also thanked Chief Minister and Party Supremo Naveen Patnaik for considering him eligible for the Deputy Speaker’s post.

The tribal BJD leader also rubbished talks of his selection being an act of damage control by the ruling party which has been at the receiving end for the recent Cabinet decision allowing the conditional transfer of tribal land to non-tribals.

Following backlash, the government withdrew the decision within 48 hours of the Cabinet nod.

Pradhan has been an MLA from G. Udayagiri constituency twice. He was first elected in 2000 and then again in 2019.

The election to the post of Deputy Speaker will be held on the first day of the Winter Session of the Assembly on Tuesday.

The session will continue till December 30 and will have 30 business days.

Notably, the Deputy Speaker’s post has been lying vacant after former Deputy Speaker Rajani Kant Singh, the four-time legislator from Angul, resigned on November 8.

Singh quit the post to devote more time to party activities in Angul in view of the forthcoming general elections next year.