Some of the most closely-watched moments at Thursday’s swearing-in ceremony of MLAs in the Kerala Assembly concerned the interactions between T.K. Govindan, V. Kunhikrishnan and G. Sudhakaran, former Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] leaders who contested and won as United Democratic Front (UDF)-backed Independents in the CPI(M) strongholds, and former Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who now leads the Left Democratic Front (LDF) in the House as the Leader of the Opposition.
Mr. Sudhakaran, who had won from Ambalappuzha after refusing to renew his party membership earlier this year over differences with the leadership, was also the Pro Tem Speaker who supervised the day’s proceedings.
Mr. Govindan, who had left the party owing to internal disagreements, surprised everyone when he strode up to Mr. Vijayan, the former Chief Minister, first before taking the oath. Mr. Vijayan half-rose to shake Mr. Govindan’s hand. Mr. Govindan had scored a decisive win over P.K. Shyamala, the wife of CPI(M) State secretary M.V. Govindan, in CPI(M) stronghold Taliparamba.
Payyannur MLA V. Kunhikrishnan walks past Leader of the Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan at the State Assembly in Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday. | Photo Credit: NIRMAL HARINDRAN
Quick meeting
Mr. Kunhikrishnan, after taking the oath, approached Mr. Vijayan for a quick greeting before meeting Mr. Sudhakaran on the dais. In January this year, the CPI(M) had expelled Mr. Kunhikrishnan, a former Kannur district committee member, from the party’s primary membership over publicly raising allegations regarding a martyrs’ fund collection. Mr. Kunhikrishnan had defeated the CPI(M) candidate to wrest Payyannur, another CPI(M) bastion.
Revolutionary Marxist Party (RMP) MLA K.K. Rema, the wife of slain RMP leader T.P. Chandrasekharan, took the oath and went straight to the dais to greet Mr. Sudhakaran.
Leader of the Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan greets Pro Tem Speaker G. Sudhakaran after taking oath at the State Assembly in Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday. | Photo Credit: NIRMAL HARINDRAN
Mr. Vijayan took the oath 133rd in line (counting Mr. Sudhakaran who had taken the oath on Wednesday). Mr. Sudhakaran and Mr. Vijayan shook hands on the Speaker’s dais. Mr. Vijayan also patted Mr. Sudhakaran’s shoulder before leaving to greet Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan and the Ministers in the Treasury Benches.
Majority of the members took the oath in the name of god - seven opting for ‘in the name of the creator.’ Others, mostly the LDF members, opted for the solemn affirmation. The House saw members taking the oath in Malayalam, English, Kannada and Tamil. Congress’s V.P. Sajeendran sported a Nehru cap. Chandy Oommen, who is representing Puthuppally for the second time, rode a bicycle to the Assembly complex for Thursday’s ceremony. The three BJP MLAs - V. Muraleedharan, Rajeev Chandrasekhar and B.B. Gopakumar - arrived in a procession for the ceremony.