Who is the Speaker of the Tamil Nadu Assembly?

Speaker and Deputy Speaker

J. C. D. Prabhakar (TVK, Thousand Lights) was elected Speaker of the 17th Assembly, unopposed, on 12 May 2026. M. Ravisankar (TVK, Thuraiyur) was elected Deputy Speaker, also unopposed, the same day.

Before the election: the pro-tem Speaker

M. V. Karuppaiah (TVK, Sholavandan) took the oath as pro-tem Speaker on 10 May 2026, administered the oath to the 234 members when the House first met on 11 May 2026, and held the post until the Speaker's election on 12 May 2026.

What the Speaker does

The Speaker presides over the House, accepts or rejects MLAs' resignations and decides anti-defection petitions under the Tenth Schedule. In 2026 that meant accepting the resignations of six AIADMK MLAs and receiving two sets of petitions between the AIADMK's factions, both withdrawn on 27 May 2026.

More: the Leader of the Opposition · what happens when an MLA resigns · who is who in Tamil Nadu.