Nimaben Acharya becomes first woman Speaker of Gujarat Assembly

Senior BJP MLA Nimaben Acharya became the first woman Speaker of the Gujarat Assembly on September 27, 2021. The nomination of Acharya was unanimously elected on the first day of the state Assembly’s two-day monsoon session. Acharya’s name was proposed by Gujarat’s CM Bhupendra Patel to which the Leader of Opposition Paresh Dhanani also gave consent on behalf of the Congress party which comprises 65 MLAs in the 182-member House.

The post of Speaker of the Gujarat Assembly fell vacant when Rajendra Trivedi resigned on September 16, 2021. He joined the new state cabinet by CM Bhupendra Patel. Trivedi is in charge of the Legislative and Parliamentary Affairs as well as Revenue departments in the Gujarat state government.

BJP legislator Jetha Bharwad has been appointed as the Deputy Speaker of the Gujarat Assembly while Pankaj Desai has been made the Chief Whip. Bharuch BJP MLA Dushyant Patel has become the Deputy Whip.

The two-day Monsoon Session of the Gujarat Legislative Assembly begins with the unopposed election of Dr.Nimaben Acharya as the first woman Speaker of the State Assembly, who was congratulated by CM Shri @Bhupendrapbjp on behalf of the entire House. pic.twitter.com/NLoqJtox6w

— CMO Gujarat (@CMOGuj) September 27, 2021

First woman Speaker of the Gujarat Assembly

Since the formation of Gujarat state in 1960, BJP MLA Nimaben Acharya became the first woman speaker of the state Assembly. “I will fulfill the new responsibility to the best of my ability,” said Acharya.

The Gujarat Legislative Assembly secretariat had invited nominations for the posts of Speaker and Deputy Speaker. Nimaben Acharya had filed her nomination for the post of Speaker of the Gujarat Assembly on September 24, 2021, in the presence of BJP Chief Whip Pankaj Desai and Rajendra Trivedi. Acharya was acting as the protem speaker after Trivedi’s resignation.

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Who is Nimaben Acharya?

Nimaben Acharya is a three-time BJP MLA and a two-time Congress MLA. 74-year-old Acharya is a senior BJP MLA from Bhuj constituency of Kutch district. Acharya is a veteran in Gujarat politics. She joined the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) in 2007. Since then, she has been winning consecutively. Prior to joining BJP, Acharya was a Congress lawmaker from Kutch district. She has worked on women’s empowerment, sports, and rural development.

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