From red fortress to fragile opposition, Kerala Assembly opens amid power shift
Thiruvananthapuram: The swearing-in of the newly elected members of the 16th Kerala Legislative Assembly began on Thursday morning, marking the formal start of a House transformed by one of the biggest political upheavals in the state’s recent history.
The proceedings commenced at 9 a.m. after Pro Tem Speaker G. Sudhakaran, who was sworn in by Kerala Governor Rajendra V. Arlekar on Wednesday, took his seat in the Assembly.
Legislators were called in alphabetical order to take the oath.
The first member to be sworn in was Fisheries Minister V.E. Abdul Gafoor of the Indian Union Muslim League.
But beyond the routine constitutional ceremony, Thursday’s sitting reflected the stunning political reversal scripted by Kerala voters in the April 2026 Assembly election.
The treasury benches, once dominated by the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front, now overflowed with confidence and celebration as a record 102 legislators of the Congress-led UDF occupied the ruling side of the 140-member House.
Laughter, greetings and visible camaraderie marked the atmosphere among the newly empowered coalition.
In sharp contrast, the opposition benches wore a subdued look.
Reduced to just 38 members, the opposition includes 35 legislators from the Left Democratic Front and three from the BJP.
The scale of the Left’s collapse remains staggering.
From 99 members in the outgoing Assembly, the alliance lost 64 sitting legislators in the election, a verdict widely interpreted as public anger against the perceived arrogance and over-centralisation associated with former Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan after a decade in power.
While Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan is listed at 105, his predecessor Vijayan is listed at 133.
The morning also had its lighter and symbolic moments. BJP leaders Rajeev Chandrasekhar, V. Muraleedharan and B. B. Gopakumar walked together from Martyrs’ Corner to the Assembly, drawing attention from onlookers and party workers alike.
Meanwhile, Congress legislator Chandy Oommen, who frequently campaigned on a bicycle during the polls, stayed true to his style, cycling to the Assembly even on oath-taking day.