Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala assembly's former deputy speaker N. Sakthan, fielded as the ruling United Democratic Front (UDF) nominee for the post of speaker, was on Thursday elected through the ballot.
He secured 74 votes while his opponent and two time CPI-M legislator Ayisha Potti secured 66 votes.
The election was necessitated after speaker G. Karthikeyan, who was battling cancer, died on last Saturday.
