The JD(S)-Congress coalition government in Karnataka is seeking to prove its majority in the state assembly on May 25. But before chief minister HD Kumaraswamy faces the trust vote, another vote is expected in the Vidhan Soudha - to elect the new speaker. The contest is between KR Ramesh Kumar of the Congress and S Suresh Kumar of the BJP. Ramesh Kumar is the JD(S)-Congress nominee and served as the speaker of the assembly between 1994 and 1999. BJP's Suresh Kumar, on the other hand, is a fifth term MLA who has won five elections since 1994 from Bengaluru's Rajaji Nagar constituency. The Congress and the JD(S) have a combined strength of 119 MLAs including two independents while the BJP has 104 members in the assembly. Who will win the race for the speaker's post?
