A senior Bharatiya Janata Party MLA, Ramvichar Netam, on Sunday, was appointed as the pro-tem Speaker of the newly-elected Chhattisgarh legislative assembly in a ceremony administered by Governor Biswabhusan Harichandan at Raj Bhawan. Netam, 61, assumed this role ahead of the assembly's first session starting from Tuesday (December 19).
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai, Deputy CMs Arun Sao and Vijay Sharma, Congress legislature party leader Charan Das Mahant, former Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, and various officials were a part of the ceremony.
Pro-tem speaker is a temporary speaker appointed for a limited period of time to conduct the business of the House in the absence of a regular speaker. His recent victory from the Ramanujganj seat in the state assembly elections, defeating Congress' Ajay Tirkey by 29,663 votes, highlights his current standing.
Netam has been a six-time MLA and has been a Rajya Sabha member in 2016. He served as a minister twice in the Raman Singh-led BJP government in Chhattisgarh, contributing to his wealth of experience in governance and legislative affairs.
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This comes after Vishnu Deo Sai was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh on Wednesday at the Science College ground in Raipur. The oath-taking ceremony was honoured by the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
The Bharatiya Janata Party celebrated a resounding victory in the Hindi heartland state. Alongside Sai, his two deputies, Vijay Sharma and Arun Saw, also took their oaths of office.
The saffron party in Chhattisgarh, defeated the Congress, reclaiming power in the state. With 54 seats secured in the 90-member state Assembly, the BJP comfortably surpassed the majority mark. The Congress trailed behind, securing 35 seats, marking a significant difference. The Assembly elections took place across two phases on November 7 and 17.