{
  "id": 872848,
  "title": "Congress sweeps Karnataka Assembly Speaker, Council Chairman posts",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/14/congress-sweeps-karnataka-assembly-speaker-council-chairman-posts",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-14T13:18:45.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Indian Express",
    "slug": "the-indian-express",
    "url": "https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/bangalore/congress-sweeps-karnataka-assembly-speaker-council-chairman-posts-10833522/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Congress secured victory in the recent elections for the positions of Legislative Assembly Speaker and Legislative Council Chairman in Karnataka. G S Patil emerged victorious as the Speaker, while Saleem Ahmed was elected as the Chairman of the Legislative Council. Patil, a four-time MLA from Ron constituency, was proposed for the post by Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, with Deputy Chief Minister Dr G Parameshwara supporting his candidacy. The election was conducted by pro tem Speaker T B Jayachandra after U T Khader resigned from the Speaker's post to join Shivakumar's Cabinet. The BJP and JD(S) had boycotted the Speaker's election.\n\nOn the other hand, MLC and Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president B K Hariprasad proposed Saleem Ahmed's name for the Council Chairman position, which was seconded by Leader of the House Dr Yathindra Siddaramaiah. Ahmed, a seasoned legislator, was first elected to the MLC in 1996 and has since been re-elected multiple times. During the election, the BJP had proposed P H Pujar for the post, with the JD(S) backing the proposal. After the voting, Ahmed was declared the winner.\n\nEarlier in the day, the BJP staged a protest at the Vidhana Soudha premises, demanding that a woman be included in the state Cabinet. With 32 ministers in the Shivakumar-led Cabinet, all of whom are men, only one berth remains vacant. BJP MLA and former minister Shashikala Jolle criticized the government for not providing a woman berth in the Cabinet, stating that it was an insult to the women community. She further added that the people of the state would teach the 'anti-women' Congress a suitable lesson in the coming days.",
  "summary": null,
  "key_points": [
    "Congress wins Karnataka Assembly Speaker and Council Chairman elections",
    "G S Patil elected Speaker, Saleem Ahmed chosen as Council Chairman",
    "BJP boycotted Speaker's election, criticized lack of women in Cabinet"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}