Pramila Mallik Resigns As Revenue Minister, Set To Become Odisha’s First Woman Speaker

Bhubaneswar: A day after BJD announced her candidature for Odisha Assembly Speaker’s post, Pramila Mallik on Thursday resigned as Revenue and Disaster Management Minister.

Accompanied by several Ministers and BJD MLAs, the six-time MLA from Binjharpur in Jajpur district later filed her nomination papers before the Assembly Secretary for the post, election to which will be held at 9.30 am on September 22, coinciding with the beginning of eight-day delayed monsoon session of the state Assembly. 

However, there will be no contest for the post as BJP has decided not to field a candidate and Congress does not have the numbers. While BJD has 113 members in a house of 147, BJP and Congress have 22 and nine legislators respectively.

The address will change to “Hon’ble Speaker Madam” in the Assembly from Friday after the election process is completed as she will have to immediately preside over the monsoon session.

The Speaker’s post has remained vacant since the resignation of Bikram Keshari Arukha on May 12, who was then inducted into Naveen Patnaik’s Cabinet as finance minister.

Mallik made her debut in the Assembly as a Janata Dal MLA from Binjharpur in 1990. After joining the BJD, she has been winning from the seat since 2000. She served as Women and Child Development Minister from 2004 to 2011 and was the government chief whip for three years from May 30, 2019, to June 6, 2022.

Earlier, the election was scheduled to be held on September 21 and filing of nomination on September 18. After opposition BJP and Congress announced to boycott the election as it coincided with Nuakhai celebrations, the mass agrarian festival of western Odisha, it was shifted to September 22 and filing of nomination to September 21.