16th Kerala Assembly Convenes; 139 MLAs Sworn In

Thiruvananthapuram: The first session of the 16th Kerala Legislative Assembly commenced on Thursday, formally marking the beginning of the legislative tenure of the newly elected government led by Chief Minister V D Satheesan. The proceedings began with Pro-tem Speaker G Sudhakaran administering the oath of office to the newly elected legislators amid elaborate arrangements in the Assembly.

Sudhakaran was sworn in as Pro-tem Speaker by Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar at a ceremony held at Lok Bhavan on Thursday in the presence of Chief Minister Satheesan and senior leaders. A total of 139 MLAs completed the oath-taking process, which was conducted in alphabetical order.

I V Abdul Gafoor from Kalamaserry constituency and representing the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) was the first legislator to take oath, followed by Parakkal Abdulla and K M Abhijith, all of whom swore in the name of God.

Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader O S Ambika from Attingal constituency became the first woman MLA to take oath during the session after making a solemn affirmation. Several members, particularly the Left representatives, including Punalur MLA C Ajayasprasad, GR Anil, MS Arun Kumar, KN Balagopal, CP John, V Joy and Congress MLA V T Balram from Thrithala in Palakkad district, opted for solemn affirmations rather than of religious oaths. Wadakkanchery MLA Xavier Chittilappilly was the last member to be sworn in.

The ceremony also reflected the Assembly’s linguistic diversity. Manjeshwaram MLA A K M Ashraf took oath in Kannada, while Devikulam MLA F Raja swore in Tamil. Senior leaders, including Ministers Ramesh Chennithala, K Muraleedharan and Sunny Joseph; Faisal Babu and actor-turned-MLA Ramesh Pisharody took oath in English.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state president and first-time Nemom MLA Rajeev Chandrasekhar also took oath during the session. Sandeep Varier drew attention by holding up the Constitution while taking oath in English and concluding with Jai Hind and Jai Samvidhan.

Former Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan received applause from members before making his solemn affirmation. In a notable moment, Taliparamba MLA T K Govindan, who recently crossed over from the CPI(M) to contest as a UDF candidate, shook hands with Vijayan before taking the oath.

Chief Minister V D Satheesan also took oath as members from both treasury and opposition benches greeted him warmly. The Assembly will convene on Friday (May 22) for the election of the Speaker and Deputy Speaker.

Governor Arlekar is scheduled to deliver the policy address of the government on May 29, outlining the administration’s priorities and developmental agenda. The government’s first full budget will be presented on June 5. The Satheesan administration has also announced plans to table a special economic white paper during the session detailing the state’s financial condition, including revenue, expenditure and debt liabilities.

Political observers expect the new government’s legislative agenda and upcoming budget to focus heavily on welfare measures, employment generation, rural development and economic recovery amid mounting fiscal challenges.