Agartala, March 18 (IANS) Former Minister and senior BJP legislator Ram Pada Jamatia was on Wednesday elected unopposed as the Speaker of the Tripura Assembly.

After the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies — Tipra Motha Party (TMP) and Indigenous Peoples Front of Tripura (IPFT) — proposed his name on March 12, Jamatia filed his nomination for the Speaker’s post.

The election for the new Speaker became necessary following the demise of the sitting Speaker, Biswa Bandhu Sen, on December 26 last year. Sen, a four-time MLA, passed away at the age of 72 at a private hospital in Bengaluru after undergoing medical treatment for more than four-and-a-half months.

Acting Speaker Ram Prasad Paul announced in the House that Jamatia was the sole candidate to file nomination papers, and with no other contenders, he was declared elected unopposed.

Subsequently, Chief Minister Manik Saha, Leader of Opposition Jitendra Chaudhury, Congress Legislature Party leader and former Minister Birajit Sinha, TMP and IPFT leaders and Chief Whip Kalyani Saha Roy, along with other leaders, escorted Jamatia to the Speaker’s chair.

Jamatia earlier served as Minister of Tribal Welfare and Industry and Commerce (Handloom, Handicrafts and Sericulture) from 2022 to 2023.

He is the second tribal leader to serve as Speaker of the Tripura Legislative Assembly since the Northeastern state attained full statehood in 1972, following Sudhanwa Debbarma, who held the post from 1978 to 1983.

A two-time MLA from the Bagma Assembly constituency in Gomati district (2018 and 2023), the 69-year-old tribal leader joined the BJP in 2017 after retiring from Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC). Earlier, he worked in the Tripura Jute Mill.

Meanwhile, the Budget session of the Tripura Assembly commenced on March 13 with Governor Indrasena Reddy Nallu delivering the customary address to the House.

Finance Minister Pranajit Singha Roy presented a tax-free deficit budget of Rs 34,212.31 crore for the financial year 2026-27 on March 16. The budget allocates higher funds to the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC), as the 30-member tribal autonomous body is set to go to crucial polls on April 13.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ratan Lal Nath earlier stated that three important bills were introduced in the Assembly to establish new institutions — Tripura Women’s University, Tripura University of Health Sciences, and Tripura Technical University. The Budget session will continue until March 25, the minister added.

–IANS

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