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Newly elected MLAs sworn in as 16th Kerala Assembly convenes
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Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan takes oath during the swearing-in ceremony in the Kerala Assembly on Thursday. | 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. Former Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan greets Pro Tem Speaker G. Sudhakaran at the Kerala Assembly after his swearing-in on Thursday. | 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. Former 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 (Thrikkaripur), Shibu Baby John (Chavara) and Sunny Joseph (Peravoor) took the oath in English. A.K.M. Ashraf (Manjeshwar) took the oath in Kannada and F. Raja (Devikulam), in Tamil. Former Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan greets BJP MLA and party’s State president Rajeev Chandrasekhar in the Assembly | 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 electionThe 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. Published - May 21, 2026 01:00 pm IST
Trinamool Congress candidate from Falta Assembly seat Jahangir Khan. Repolling on the Falta seat in South 24 Parganas is scheduled for May 21. The Trinamool Congress candidate’s announcement of withdrawal came on the last day of the campaign when West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari was holding a roadshow in the area in support of BJP candidate Debangshu Panda.The Calcutta High Court on Monday (May 18, 2026) granted protection to TMC’s Falta Assembly repoll candidate Jahangir Khan from any coercive action by the police until May 26 in connection with criminal cases filed against him.The Election Commission of India (ECI) announced on May 2, 2026, that repolling for the Falta Assembly seat in the South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal will take place on May 21. The polling will be held at all 285 polling stations in the Assembly constituency, and the votes will be counted on May 24.“There were allegations of electoral malpractices in Falta. The ECI’s notification announcing the repolling stated that during the polling on April 29, several complaints had been received from political parties, candidates, and media reports “alleging the application of black adhesive tape or perfume on the ballot unit buttons of EVMs in favor of or against particular political parties, intimidation and obstruction of voters, and the physical, unauthorised, and illegal presence of political party cadres inside polling stations”. Published - May 19, 2026 03:28 pm IST
West Bengal Speaker Rathindra Bose. Source: Facebook/Rathindra Bose Rathindra Bose, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA from the Cooch Behar Dakshin Assembly seat, was on Friday (May 15, 2026) elected as the Speaker of West Bengal Legislative Assembly.Mr. Bose was elected the Speaker of the 18th West Bengal Legislative Assembly unanimously through a voice vote.The 65-year-old politician is a Chartered Accountant by profession. He defeated Trinamool Congress’s Avijit De Bhaumik by a margin of 23,284 votes.Mr. Bose has been associated with the BJP and RSS for the past several years.This is the first occasion when a leader from north Bengal has been selected for the Speaker’s post. Mr. Bose, who has been serving as the BJP’s State vice-president, is known for his strong organisational skills in the region.During the Trinamool Congress regime, the Speaker of the West Bengal Assembly was Biman Banerjee, a lawyer and Trinamool MLA from Baruipur Paschim constituency. Mr. Banerjee has managed to win his seat in this election.During the Left Front era, Syed Abdul Mansur Habibullah and Hashim Abdul Halim were the Speakers of the Assembly, respectively.Usually, political parties nominate someone who is a lawyer or a lawyer by profession as the Speaker. However, the prevailing practice has been broken this time with the nomination of Rathindra Bose. Published - May 15, 2026 11:57 am IST
BJP MLA Rathindra Bose, Cooch Behar Dakshin. File | Speaking to reporters in the Assembly, Mr. Adhikari said Mr. Bose, the BJP legislator from Cooch Behar Dakshin, has been nominated by the party for the election to the constitutional post.Reacting to the announcement, Mr. Bose said that if elected as Speaker, he would discharge his responsibilities with the motto of "Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas".The election for the Speaker's post is scheduled to be held on Friday (May 15, 2026).The TMC is yet to announce any candidate for the post.With the BJP having 207 MLAs in the 294-member assembly, the numbers are stacked in its favour. Published - May 14, 2026 12:28 pm IST
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