Newly elected MLAs sworn in as 16th Kerala Assembly convenes

The newly-elected legislators were formally sworn in as Members of Legislative Assembly (MLA) at the first session of the 16th Kerala Assembly in Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday (May 21, 2026). Pro Tem Speaker G. Sudhakaran supervised the proceedings over a three-and-a-half-hour-long ceremony. Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar had sworn in Mr. Sudhakaran on Wednesday. The remaining 139 members took the oath on Thursday. Fisheries Minister V.E. Abdul Gafoor, representing the Kalamassery constituency, was the first to take the oath as the names were called in alphabetical order. Xavier Chittilapilly (Wadakkancherry) was the last. Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan was 105th to take the oath. He took the oath in the name of god. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who was 133rd, solemnly affirmed his commitment. Most of the members took the oath in Malayalam. Faisal Babu (Kozhikode South), Mani C. Kappan (Pala), Mathew Kuzhalnadan (Muvattupuzha), Ramesh Chennithala (Haripad), Sandeep Varier (Thrikkarippur), Shibu Baby John (Chavara) and Sunny Joseph (Peravoor) took the oath in English. A.K.M. Ashraf (Manjeswaram) took the oath in Kannada Raja (Devikulam), in Tamil. T.K. Govindan, who had quit the CPI(M) and won as a UDF-supported Independent, took everyone by surprise when he moved towards Mr. Vijayan to shake hands with him before taking the oath. The ruling Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) has a massive majority in the House with 102 out of the 140 seats. The CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) has 35 seats and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), three. The House convened for the ceremony at 9 a.m. with the rendition of the national anthem. Speaker election The Speaker will be elected on Friday (May 22, 2026). The Congress has picked leader Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan for the Speaker’s post and Shanimol Usman for the Deputy Speaker’s post. The BJP, which won three seats in Kerala Assembly, will field its candidate, B.B. Gopakumar, in the election for the Speaker’s post, said State party president Rajeev Chandrasekhar. Five years ago in 2021, the oath-taking ceremony of the 15th Kerala Assembly was held amidst strict COVID-19 protocols. Back then, seats were rearranged in the House to ensure that physical distance was maintained.