BJP's KG Bopaiah, as Protem Speaker, grabs spotlight before Karnataka trust-vote

For KG Bopaiah, being nominated as Protem Speaker could be deja vu. After all, he held the same position in 2009 as well when BJP under BS Yeddyurappa emerged triumphant in Karnataka.

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Bengaluru: All eyes would be on KG Bopaiah when the crucial trust-vote finally takes place in the Karnataka Assembly on Saturday evening. Named Protem Speaker by Governor Vajubhai Vala, it is three-time BJP MLA Bopaiah who would take the final call on whether BJP has indeed proven majority - or not.

As the Protem Speaker, it is Bopaiah who would be responsible for conducting the floor-test in which CM BS Yeddyurappa will have to show he has the numbers needed to continue in office. What Bopaiah finally says, would stay.

Having had a long-term association with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Bopaiah's first major political mark was being appointed general secretary of Kodagu district unit of BJP. He quickly rose through the ranks from hereon - becoming president of the BJP unit before being elected as a party MLA from Madikeri constituency.

Since, the three-time MLA has served in several significant capacities - one of them being Protem Speaker in the Karnataka Assembly in 2008. In 2011, his role was seen as significant in saving the BJP government in the state when Bopaiah disqualified 11 BJP MLAs who had rebelled against BS Yeddyurappa government in the state.

In the recently-held elections in which BJP emerged as the single-largest party, Bopaiah managed to get 77,944 votes - defeating Congress candidate Arun Machaiah in Virajpet constituency by 13,353 votes and emerging victorious for the fourth time.