BODO TRIBAL LEADER NAMED SPEAKER OF ASSAM HOUSE

In what may be called the beginning of inclusive politics in Assam, ruling BJP nominated and elected 50-year-old Bodo tribal leader Biswajit Daimary as 21st speaker of Assam Legislative Assembly.

Mr Daimary, son of a farmer and a mahout, who washed glasses in a tea stall to help the family in his school days has come a long way by starting his career as a student leader and being one of the architects of peace in Western Assam, the Bodo heartland.

Mr Daimary, himself a trained elephant mahout, wanted to become a teacher from an early age, thus he joined the Assam Rashtrabhasha Prasar Samiti in Class-V and appeared for Hindi examination passing Visharad when he was in Class IX only.

A former MLA from

2001 to 2006, Mr Daimary represented the state in parliament as a BPF Rajya Sabha MP from

2008 to 2014 and then from 2014 to 2020 and was re-elected as BJP MP in the upper house in 2021.

He resigned from Rajya Sabha to contest the assembly election on a BJP ticket from Paneri, which he won.

Even political opponent of Mr Daimary and former chief of Bodoland Territorial Council Hagrama Mohilary while welcoming the decision of his appointment, thanked the BJP government for honouring a tribal legislature. He in a social media post said, “Profound thanks to chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma for honouring a tribal legislator Biswajit Daimary as the speaker of Assam Legislative Assembly, the first Bodo in this dignified stature. Looking forward to more undiscriminating initiatives by the government for the welfare of Tribal.”

On his unanimous election as the speaker of the House, Mr Daimary thanked everyone and said, “I believe I will be able to give a strong and positive message from the House to the people of Assam. All the MLAs will be able to speak their mind here. I will give equal chances to everyone.”