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Samajwadi Party's Azam Khan on list of 17 MLAs for UP protem speaker
Khan, who retained his stronghold of the Rampur Assembly seat, is also the Lok Sabha MP for the region and must surrender one of the two posts; this gives the ruling BJP another chance to wrest it from the Samajwadi Party, which has won it in every election since 2002.
A list of 17 senior MLAs has been sent to Uttar Pradesh governor Anandiben Patel from which she is expected choose the Protem Speaker of the UP Vidhan Sabha, Livehindustan.com has reported. The list includes Samajwadi Party leader and former UP minister Azam Khan but his chances of making the cut are low given the 73-year-old lawmker is currently in jail.
Khan, who retained his stronghold of the Rampur Assembly seat, is also the Lok Sabha MP for the region and must surrender one of the two posts; this gives the ruling BJP another chance to wrest it from the Samajwadi Party, which has won it in every election since 2002.
He was given bail last week in a case related to defamation and spreading hatred, but remains behind bars in UP's Sitapur Jail over two other cases. In last month's election Azam Khan defeated the Bharatiya Janata Party's Akash Saxena from by more than 55,000 votes.
Others on the list of 17 sent to the UP governor for consideration of appointment as Protem Speaker include the BJP's Suresh Kumar Khanna and Samajwadi leader Awadhesh Prasad.
The BJP won the UP Assembly election for a second consecutive time, winning 255 of the 403 seats. Yogi Adityanath is expected to retain his position as chief minister.
The oath-taking for Adityanath and his new cabinet is expected soon, although there is no confirmed date; it is understood this will be announced based on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's availability. On Wednesday the BJP core committee held a six-hour meeting to discuss the formation of the government and its cabinet.
According to news agency ANI, scores of beneficiaries of various schemes started by the BJP governments at the centre and in UP are likely to attend the swearing-in ceremony.
