140 Kerala legislators to take oath on Friday

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The 140 newly-elected Kerala legislators will take oath on Friday to officially enter the 15th Legislative Assembly of the southern state.

The oath will be read out by the pro-term Speaker, who will be decided by the new Pinarayi Vijayan Cabinet during its first meeting to be held on Thursday, soon after the newly-elected government is sworn-in by Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan.

After the swearing-in, Chief Minister Vijayan and his 20-members Cabinet will drive to the official residence of Khan who will host a tea party, following which they will arrive at the state Secretariat for the first Cabinet meeting.

On Saturday, the Assembly will meet again to elect the Speaker for the 15th Kerala Assembly and with 99 legislators belonging to the ruling Left and just 41 to the Congress-led Opposition, the election will only be a formality.

The CPI-M has named two-time former Lok Sabha member M.B. Rajesh for the Speaker's post.