Newly elected members sworn in across Kerala local bodies

THE newly elected members of local bodies in Kerala were sworn in and formally assumed office on Sunday across the state.

The oath-taking ceremonies began at 10 a.m. in the three-tier panchayats and municipalities, while proceedings in the corporations started at 11.30 am. The term of the outgoing administrative bodies ended on Saturday.

In each body, the senior-most elected member took the oath first, administered by officials authorised by the government. Senior Congress member Cletus was the first to take the oath in the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation and subsequently administered the oath to other members.

Congress member KS Sabarinathan took the oath, holding up a copy of the Constitution. Former DGP and BJP councillor from the Sasthamangalam ward, R Sreelekha, concluded her oath with the chant “Vande Mataram.”

BJP state president Rajiv Chandrasekhar and the party’s Kerala in-charge Prakash Javadekar were present at the oath-taking ceremony in Thiruvananthapuram Corporation, where the BJP has come to power.

Senior member Udaya Sukumaran was the first to take the oath in Kollam Corporation, after which he administered the oath to the others.

Large turnouts were reported in the oath-taking ceremonies held in the Kochi, Thrissur, Kozhikode, and Kannur corporations, as well as in other local bodies across the state.

The election of Mayors and Municipal Chairpersons has been scheduled for December 26 at 10.30 am, followed by the election of Deputy Mayors and Vice-Chairpersons at 2.30 pm the same day.

On December 27, elections for the presidents of grama, block, and district panchayats will be held at 10.30 am., with Vice-Presidents to be elected later at 2.30 pm.

A total of 23,573 candidates won in the Kerala local body elections held in phases on December 9 and 11.