Those who were elected to the 13th Assembly were sworn in on Wednesday.
The newly elected members took the oath of office before Pro tem Speaker N. Sakthan. The members were called according to the alphabetical order of their names. A.P. Abdullakutty elected from Kannur was the first to be called for taking the oath.
Education Minister P.K. Abdu Rabb was the first member of the Cabinet who took the oath of office. Leader of the Opposition V.S. Achuthanandan was sworn in eighth and Chief Minister Oommen Chandy came in as the 85{+t}{+h} member. The members took the oath in Malayalam, English, Tamil, and Kannada. While the majority of the members preferred to take the oath in Malayalam, K. Muraleedharan (Congress), M.V. Sreyams Kumar (Socialist Janata-Democratic) and the nominated Anglo-Indian member Ludy Louis took the oath in English. P.B. Abdul Razak (Indian Union Muslim League) who was elected from Manjeswaram took the oath in Kannada and S. Rajendran (Communist Party of India-Marxist) from Devikulam took the oath in Tamil. P. Aisha Potty (CPI-M) elected from Kottarakara was the first woman member to take the oath.
All CPI(M), Revolutionary Socialist Party and Communist Party of India members, except V. Sasi from Chirayinkeezhu, took solemn pledge. Mr. Sasi, who resigned as member of the Travancore Devaswom Board, took the oath in the name of God. All IUML members, including Manjalamkuzhi Ali, who was a CPI(M) Independent in the 12th Assembly, took the oath in the name of Allah. All Congress members, except V.T. Balram from Thrithala in Palakkad, took the oath in the name of God. Mr. Balaram took a solemn oath.
The first day of the session saw members sharing a warm camaraderie. Both Left Democratic Front (LDF) and United Democratic Front (UDF) members exchanged pleasantries, shook hands and some embraced one another. LDF member K.T. Jaleel and C.P. Mohammed (Congress) were the first to reach the Assembly.
The visitors galleries were packed to capacity. The VIP gallery too saw an array of senior UDF and LDF leaders. Mr. Sakthan asked the visitors to maintain silence during the ceremony. Deputy Leader of the Opposition Kodiyeri Balakrishnan and some Opposition members asked Mr. Sakthan to direct the watch and ward staff to control the visitors thronging the galleries. The swearing-in ceremony which began at 9 a.m. drew to a close at 11.45 a.m.
