Panaji, Mar 22 (IANS): Two-time Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Pramod Sawant was elected Speaker of the seventh Goa legislative assembly on Wednesday.
Sawant, 44, who was nominated by BJP MLA Glenn Ticlo defeated the Congress nominee for the Speaker's post Aleixo Reginaldo, by a margin of 20-15 in the election conducted on the first day of the budget session of the state legislative assembly, by pro-tem Speaker Sidharth Kunkolienkar, a BJP MLA.
After assuming his new role, Sawant, a former youth leader of the state BJP and MLA from Sanquelim, said that he would be impartial in his conduct as Speaker.
"I will be impartial. All will be given equal opportunity... Training classes for old and new MLAs. MLAs will be trained to present issues and questions," Sawant said.