Congress leader Shanimol Osman becomes Kerala Deputy Speaker, first woman to hold post in 35 years

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Assembly got a woman deputy speaker after three decades as Congress MLA Shanimol Osman was elected to the post on Tuesday.

She will be the fourth woman to hold the post.

Sixty-year old Osman is a second time MLA from Aroor in Alappuzha. She has held various posts in the party and is a member of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee's core committee.

In the deputy speaker election Osman secured 99 votes in the 140 member house. Among the 102 members of the Congress-led United Democratic Front, two were absent and the speaker did not vote. CPI's Muhammad Muhasin, who contested as CPM-led Left Democratic Front candidate, secured 34 votes of the 35 LDF MLAs, while one was absent. The three BJP MLAs abstained from voting.

CPI leader Bhargavi Thankappan was the last woman to serve as deputy speaker in Kerala assembly. She served from 1987 to 1991. The other women deputy speakers were K O Aysha Bai from 1957 to 1959 and A Nafeesath Beevi from 1960 to 1964