# G.S. Patil elected Karnataka Speaker; BJP, JD(S) boycott 2026-08-14T07:39:32+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 3 independent outlets Congress MLA G.S. Patil was elected Speaker of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly on August 14. Pro-tem Speaker T.B. Jayachandra declared him elected by a voice vote. The opposition BJP and JD(S) boycotted the election. Leader of Opposition R. Ashoka said the boycott was to protest the Congress high command naming the Speaker on its party letterhead, which he called unconstitutional. Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar countered that the letter only named the party's nominee, not the Speaker, and urged the opposition to participate. Congress MLC Saleem Ahmed was elected Chairperson of the Legislative Council. ## Coverage - thehindu.com - newindianexpress.com - thefederal.com Tags: BJP boycott, Congress, G S Patil, Karnataka Assembly, Speaker election Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/g-s-patil-elected-karnataka-assembly-speaker-bjp-jds-boycott/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/g-s-patil-elected-karnataka-assembly-speaker-bjp-jds-boycott/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes.