Ranchi, Jan 6 - Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader C. P. Singh was Wednesday elected the fifth speaker of the Jharkhand assembly.

The four time legislator, who was elected unanimously to the post, was escorted to his chair by Chief Minister Shibu Soren, Deputy Chief Ministers Raghubar Das and Sudesh Mahto as well as leaders of the Congress, Rashtriya Janata Dal and others.

"I hope to get cooperation from the ruling and opposition sides and I will try my best to maintain the dignity of the chair," he told reporters later.

On Monday, six sets of nomination papers were filed in favour of C. P. Singh. His name was proposed by both the ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), BJP and Janata Dal-United (JD-U) as well as the main opposition parties Jharkhand Vikas Morcha-Prajatantrik (JVM-P) and Congress.

C. P. Singh is the first BJP speaker of the Jharkhand assembly. He was first elected in 1995 from the Ranchi assembly seat and has continued to represent the constituency since. (IANS)