Ram Ashish Yadav of the Janata Samajbadi Party, Nepal (JSP-N) has been elected Speaker of the Madhesh Province Assembly. He secured a clear majority in Sunday’s vote, winning 72 of the 96 ballots cast, while 24 members voted against him.

Yadav’s victory came after the Assembly conducted a vote division on the first proposal, resulting in his immediate election. As a result, a separate proposal registered by the CPN-UML to nominate Triloki Prasad Yadav as Speaker was automatically nullified.

Yadav, elected from Dhanusha Constituency 2 (B), also served as a provincial assembly member during the previous term. His elevation to the Speaker’s post comes days after the ruling seven-party alliance agreed that JSP-N would lead the Assembly.

A total of 96 lawmakers were present in the House during the vote.

With the Speaker position now filled, the JSP-N is expected to move ahead with its plans to join the provincial Cabinet, which was recently expanded under the Congress-led government.