Patna: Veteran BJP MLA Nand Kishore Yadav was elected as the Speaker of Bihar state legislative assembly here on Thursday.

Deputy Speaker Maheshwar Hajari, who initiated the process of election in the house, announced Yadav was chosen unanimously for the post.

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who is also the leader of the house, and the leader of the Opposition Tejaswi Prasad Yadav escorted Nand Kishore Yadav to the Speaker's chair after his election.

Earlier, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Vijay Kumar Chaudhary proposed Nand Kishore Yadav for the post which was seconded by Bihar Minister Shrawan Kumar.

Yadav expressed his gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP National President JP Nadda, leader of the house and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Deputy Chief Ministers Samrat Chaudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha, leader of the opposition Tejaswi Prasad Yadav and the entire house for unanimously electing him to the post of the speaker.

Yadav assured to run the house in accordance with the laid rules adopted in 1961 and enacted in 1966 and vowed to conduct his duty without considering political affiliations while protecting the dignity of the members.

He drew a parallel between the rules and regulations governing the house, and the Indian Constitution with "Geeta”.

He lauded the conduct of the members on the floor of the house during the confidence motion and trust vote on February 12.

He urged the members to raise their issues as per the laid rules and regulations for adequate solutions to the problems. Struggle and discussions are two different things and should not be intermingled, he added.

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar congratulated Nand Kishore Yadav for his unanimous election and said that both the ruling alliance and the Opposition were pleased with his election for the post of the Speaker.

He also thanked the Opposition for the unanimous election of the Speaker and hoped that the latter would listen to every side and discharge his responsibilities with the experience of his long parliamentary stint.

Tejaswi Yadav also congratulated the Speaker on behalf of his party members and leader of his party Lalu Prasad Yadav and hoped that he would be impartial in discharging his responsibilities while running the house.

He said the entire house would benefit from the long parliamentary stint and experience of the speaker.

The Leader of the Opposition assured to extend his party's members' support in the smooth running of the house and in taking up the issues of common people.

Deputy CM Samrat Chaudhary congratulated Yadav and said that it was a matter of pride for the house that a person with vast experience from different walks of life has been seated on the post.

Deputy CM Vijay Kumar Sinha said that the house will benefit from Yadav in various fields including government, administration and organisation and he expects him to discharge the responsibilities meticulously using his vast experience and cooperate in the transformation of Bihar.

(With UNI inputs)