Ritu Khanduri becomes first woman Speaker of U’khand
Daughter of former CM Khanduri elected Speaker of the state assembly unopposed
DEHRADUN: Ritu Khanduri, BJP MLA from Kotdwar, was elected unopposed as the first woman speaker of the Uttarakhand legislative assembly on Saturday. She was administered oath by pro-tem speaker Banshidhar Bhagat.
After her election, Khanduri, the daughter of former chief minister Major Gen (retd) Bhuwan Chandra Khanduri, expressed her gratitude to all the members of the ruling party and the Opposition for electing her unanimously as the speaker of the state’s fifth legislative assembly. “I will try my best to discharge my duty in line with the highest parliamentary ideals and traditions,”she said.
Khanduri said it is not just a proud moment for the womenfolk of the state but for the whole Uttarakhand. She said she hoped that a small state like Uttarakhand will become an inspiration for other states.
MLAs from both the BJP and Congress congratulated her on her election.
Congratulating her, chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami dwelt on her academic achievements and said her assumption of office as the first woman speaker of the state was an acknowledgement of the valuable contribution made by women in Uttarakhand’s movement for statehood.
“It is a historic day for us. We got our first woman speaker in you today. It is an honour for the entire women population of the state who played a stellar role in the formation of Uttarakhand,” Dhami said, adding that he hopes she will run the assembly in the best possible way.
Senior Congress leader and MLA Pritam Singh said he hoped that she will run the House efficiently and ensure that Opposition is able to perform its duty in the assembly.
Political analyst Prof MM Semwal said Khanduri was chosen for the job as the BJP wanted to send a signal that they want women to be empowered at all levels. “Also, women voting percentage was higher than that of men. Women votes played a key role in the victory of the BJP. Apart from this, the Dhami cabinet has only one women minister. With Khanduri as the speaker, they have tried to balance this aspect.” .
According to the Election Commission data, voting percentage in the assembly elections stood at 65.37 % -- women (67.2 %) and male (62.37 %).
Before taking a plunge into politics, she taught at a private university in Noida for several years.
Ritu Khanduri defeated Congress’s former cabinet minister Surendra Singh Negi from Kotdwar in Pauri Garhwal district. Her victory assumes more importance as she was denied party ticket from her seat Yamkeshwar and was later asked to contest from Kotdwar. Taking it in her stride, Ritu Khanduri aggressively fought the election and also sought votes reminding voters about the 2012 defeat of her father which according to her denied Kotdwar proper development and a tag of a CM’s home turf.
Ritu was elected as MLA from Yamkeshwar in Pauri Garhwal district in 2017 assembly elections by defeating independent candidate Renu Bisht.
Her father and veteran politician was the CM of Uttarakhand from 2007-2009 and then from 2011-2012. Bhuwan Chandra Khanduri had lost 2012 assembly election from Kotdwar segment against Surendra Singh Negi.