Rudrappa Lamani elected as Deputy Speaker

Congress MLA Rudrappa Lamani was elected unanimously as Deputy Speaker of the Legislative Assembly on Thursday.

Lamani, who hails from the Banjara community, said the post came to him unexpectedly. Having been a minister twice previously, he expected to be a minister for the third time, he said. "But the party wanted me to take this up and I obliged," he said.

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Congratulating him, Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said the Congress had to "force" Lamani to become the deputy speaker. He urged Lamani not to feel discouraged as the post was an opportunity to win people's hearts.

"Situations change quickly in politics. It's an art of possibilities," Shivakumar said, cryptically adding that many political events may unfold in Karnataka in the coming days.

Latching on to this, former chief minister Basavaraj Bommai added that Karnataka would soon witness many changes in the political scenario. "You have all our support," Bommai said, pulling Shivakumar's leg in a veiling reference to his chief ministerial ambition.