The first session of the newly-formed fifth Delhi legislative Assembly will begin on Wednesday. Senior Congress MlA Mateen Ahmad would be the Pro-tem Speaker, who will administer oath to the remaining members of the House. The second day of the seven-day session would witness the vote of confidence by the Arvind Kejriwal-led Government, which is banking on outside support from eight Congress MlAs. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has 28 MlAs in the 70-member House and it would require 36 seats to prove its majority on the floor.
The BJP, which emerged as the single-largest party, has 31 MlAs and is supported by one member of the Shiromani Akali Dal. The Assembly Session will also be unprecedented as it would see the vote of confidence in the House before election of the Speaker and Deputy Speaker - a complete departure from tradition in the history of Indian legislature. Former Director of lok Sabha Secretariat SK Sharma said it will be for the first time in the history of Delhi and Indian politics that a Pro-tem Speaker will preside over the Session during the vote of confidence - which is traditionally conducted by the elected Speaker of the House. In absence of the Speaker, the meeting is conducted by the Deputy Speaker.
The election for the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker will be held on January 3. The ruling AAP has nominated Jangpura MlA MS Dhir for the post of the Speaker, while the BJP is likely to field five-time MlA Jagdish Mukhi or Sahab Singh Chauhan for the post.
Mukhi had on Monday refused to be the Pro-tem Speaker. Similarly, lone
JD(U) MlA and five-time legislator Shoaib Iqbal too declined from becoming the Pro-tem Speaker.
Following their refusal, Mateen Ahmad, a four-time MlA was elected for the post. Confirming the development, Ahmad said he was instructed by the party leadership to preside over the House meetings temporarily.
“Delhi’s lieutenant-Governor Najeeb Jung will address the Assembly on January 6. The House would then discuss the motion of thanks on his address on January 7 that will also mark the end of the first session,” stated an official statement.