In the voting held, he secured 92 votes against UDF’s V.P. Sajeendran from Kunnathunadu constituency, who got 46 votes in the 140-member legislative assembly.
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According to reports, pro-term speaker S Sharma and independent MLA PC George did not cast their votes, bringing down the total number of votes to 138. Independent MLA PC George’s vote had been reportedly marked invalid.
The Speaker, after assuming charge, announced that Mr Chennithala had been elected the leader of the Opposition and P.K. Kunhalikutty of the Muslim League the Opposition deputy Leader.
O Rajagopal, the only BJP MLA in the state, said that he voted for Sreeramakrishnan. “The Speaker should be a person who can view every lawmaker as an equal and I feel Sreeramakrishnan will fit the post better”, Mr Rajagopal, 86, told reporters at the Press Club here. As the opposition UDF only gained 46 votes despite having 47 members, it has been speculated that it was one from their midst who voted for the LDF.
The BJP veteran said his stand in the assembly will be issue based and “there will be no blind opposition, nor will there be any blind support”.
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Even if Sreeramakrishnan’s election was a foregone conclusion given the near two-thirds majority that the LDF commands in the new House, observers had attached significance to how the BJP member, elected for the first time, would choose to exercise his franchise. The former government chief whip had earlier made it clear that he will not support either fronts and remain independent. He retained the seat in 2016 polls.
