The oath-taking ceremony was conducted in alphabetical order. IUML legislator V E Abdul Gafoor, elected from Kalamassery, was the first MLA to take oath, while Xavier Chitilappilly of CPI(M), representing Wadakkanchery, was the final member to be sworn in.
Chief Minister V D Satheesan took oath as the 105th member, whereas Opposition Leader Pinarayi Vijayan was the 133rd legislator to complete the process.
A total of 42 MLAs opted for a “solemn affirmation” instead of taking oath in the name of God. All legislators from the CPI(M) and CPI chose the affirmation route. Congress MLAs V T Balram and Sumesh Achuthan, RSP leaders Shibu Baby John and Vishnu Mohan, and RMP legislator K K Rema were also among those who made a solemn affirmation.
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Former CPI(M) leaders T K Govindan and V Kunhikrishnan, who contested as UDF-backed independents after leaving the party, along with CMP KSC MLA C P John, similarly chose to affirm rather than swear in the name of God.
The ceremony also reflected linguistic diversity in the House. IUML MLA A K M Ashraf from Manjeshwar took oath in a regional dialect blending Kannada and Malayalam, while Congress MLA F Raja from Devikulam delivered the oath in Tamil.Several legislators, including senior Congress leaders Ramesh Chennithala, K Muraleedharan and Sunny Joseph, Congress members Mathew Kuzhalnadan and Sandeep Varier, RSP MLA John, IUML legislator Fyzal Babu and Kerala Democratic Party MLA Mani C Kappen, opted to take oath in English.
During his swearing-in, Sandeep Varier held a copy of the Constitution and concluded with the slogans “Jai Hind” and “Jai Sita Ram”.
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Among the RSP legislators, John and Mohan chose solemn affirmation, while party colleague Ullas Kovur took oath in the name of God. BJP MLAs Rajeev Chandrasekhar, B B Gopakumar and V Muraleedharan also chose the religious oath format.
Ministers’ swearing-in
Kerala Chief Minister V D Satheesan has retained the crucial Finance and Law portfolios in the newly constituted UDF government, in addition to overseeing 36 other departments, according to the portfolio allocation notified by Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar on Wednesday. The cabinet ministers had taken oath on May 18.
As per the recommendations submitted by the Chief Minister and cleared by the Governor, senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala has been assigned the Home and Vigilance departments along with three additional portfolios.
A gazette notification issued later stated that the Chief Minister would also supervise all major policy matters and subjects not specifically allocated to any department.
Among alliance partners, IUML veteran P K Kunhalikutty has been entrusted with Industries and Commerce, Information Technology, Artificial Intelligence, Startups, Mining and Geology, besides Handlooms and Textiles.
KPCC president Sunny Joseph has been given charge of Electricity, Environment and Parliamentary Affairs, while senior Congress leader K Muraleedharan will oversee eight departments, including Health, Devaswoms, Food Safety, Drugs Control and Medical Education, according to the Lok Bhavan notification.
Congress MLA Roji M John has been allocated Higher Education, while A P Anil Kumar will handle Land and Revenue. N Shamsudheen has been appointed General Education Minister.
RSP legislator Shibu Baby John has received the Forests and Wildlife Protection and Skill Development portfolios. Kerala Congress (Joseph) MLA Mon Joseph will oversee Irrigation, Ground Water, Water Supply and Sanitation, and Housing.
CMPKSC MLA C P John has been assigned the Road and Water Transport departments. Kerala Congress (Jacob) legislator Anoop Jacob will head Food and Civil Supplies, while IUML MLA V E Abdul Gafoor has been given charge of Fisheries.
Within the IUML quota, P K Basheer will head the Public Works Department, while K M Shaji has been entrusted with Local Self Government institutions.
Among other Congress ministers, P C Vishnunadh has been allocated Tourism, Culture and the Kerala Chalachithra Academy, among other departments. M Liju has been assigned Cooperation and Excise, while T Siddique will oversee Agriculture and three other portfolios. K A Thulasi has been given charge of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Backward Classes Development.
The Lok Bhavan notification further said that Bindu Krishna will supervise six departments, including Labour and Animal Husbandry. O J Janeesh has been allotted seven departments, including Sports, Youth Affairs, Registration and Zoos.
Addressing reporters earlier, Satheesan dismissed speculation over delays in finalising the portfolio distribution, maintaining that differences regarding departmental allocation had been resolved by Monday itself.
He said the list of portfolios had been prepared on Monday night following the swearing-in ceremony, but the Governor was away in Thrissur and returned to the state capital only on Tuesday night.
According to Satheesan, the list was submitted to the Governor on Wednesday morning. He maintained that there had been no delay, noting that portfolio allocation in most cases takes around 48 hours after the oath-taking ceremony. He added that the exercise had effectively been completed by Monday night itself and that the government was unaware the Governor would remain away from the state capital on Tuesday.
