Deputy Speaker V P Sivakolundhu was the sole contender for Puducherry Assembly post

Deputy Speaker V P Sivakolundhu was today elected as the new Speaker of the Puducherry Assembly.

The 68-year-old Congress leader was the sole contender for the post.

The Speaker's chair fell vacant after Congress's V Vaithilingam stepped down on March 21 to contest the Lok Sabha election from the lone Union Territory seat, which he won with a margin of 1,96,802 votes against his nearest rival K Narayanasamy of All India NR Congress.