KATHMANDU, APRIL 10 Rubi Kumari Thakur has been elected Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives. She had contested the post as a candidate of the Shram Sanskriti Party. In the election held this evening, Thakur secured 229 votes, while her closest rival, Saraswoti Lama of the Rastriya Prajatantra Party, received five votes. A total of 22 votes were cast as 'none of the above.' Of the 275-member House of Representatives, 256 members participated in the election. Speaker Dol Prasad Aryal formally announced Thakur's election and extended his congratulations. The 26-year-old lawmaker had garnered the support of the ruling Rastriya Swatantra Party, as well as three major opposition parties-the Nepali Congress, CPN (UML), and the Communist Party of Nepal. The first session of the House of Representatives is scheduled to be prorogued at midnight.