CHENNAI: In the first contest since it emerged on top in the recently concluded Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam scored a major victory inside the House on Monday after its nominees, JCD Prabhakar and M Ravisankar, are set to be elected unopposed as Speaker and Deputy Speaker on Tuesday.
Prabhakar, who won from the Thousand Lights constituency in the 2026 Assembly election on TVK ticket, filed his nomination papers for the post of Speaker of the Legislative Assembly with Assembly Secretary K Srinivasan on Monday.
The senior leader, who was formerly associated with the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) before joining TVK ahead of the election, is one of the senior-most legislators in the ruling combine.
The 73-year-old leader defeated DMK candidate Ezhilan Naganathan in Thousand Lights by a margin of more than 12,000 votes.
Prabhakar had earlier served as MLA from the Villivakkam constituency in 1980 and 2011 during his stint with in the AIADMK.
Meanwhile, M Ravisankar, the TVK MLA from Thuraiyur constituency, has also filed nomination papers for the post of Deputy Speaker. He, too, is likely to be elected unopposed on Tuesday.
Though the Speaker is usually elected unopposed, the principal Opposition party, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), had initially toyed with the idea of fielding a candidate for the election, as the composition of the Assembly is unusually fractured this time. Till late on Sunday night, the party had considered the names of senior leaders R Sakkarapani and Thangam Thennarasu, sources said.
However, the plan was later dropped reportedly to avoid a political embarrassment for the Left parties and the VCK, which continue to remain in the DMK-led alliance even while extending support to the ruling TVK government. Sources added that TVK leader and Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay calling on DMK president MK Stalin also softened the opposition’s position in this regard.