Puducherry [India], May 20 : Puducherry Legislative Assembly Pro-tem Speaker Anbalagan arrived at the Assembly on Wednesday to administer the oath of office to the newly elected Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs).
Upon his arrival at the assembly premises, he was accorded a formal welcome. Following this, the swearing-in ceremony for the newly elected legislators will commence, where the Pro-tem Speaker will officially administer the oath of secrecy to the members.
MLA A Anbalagan was appointed as the pro-tem Speaker of the 16th Puducherry Legislative Assembly by the Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry, K Kailashnathan, on the recommendation of Chief Minister N Rangasamy, on Friday, according to an official statement.
"The Hon'ble Lieutenant Governor has appointed A Anbalagan, Member of the Legislative Assembly, as the pro-tem Speaker of the 16th Puducherry Legislative Assembly, on the recommendation of the Hon'ble Chief Minister," the statement read.
Anbalagan is the sole AIADMK MLA in Puducherry. He won the Oupalam seat after defeating Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) candidate S Siva by a margin of 1026 votes.
The appointment comes days after N Rangasamy took charge as the Chief Minister of Puducherry following the National Democratic Alliance's (NDA) victory in the recently concluded Assembly elections.
Rangasamy, founder of the All India NR Congress (AINRC), was sworn in as Chief Minister on Wednesday. Puducherry Lieutenant Governor K Kailashnathan administered the oath of office and secrecy during a ceremony attended by BJP National President Nitin Nabin and senior leaders of the alliance.
Speaking to reporters after taking the oath, Rangasamy thanked the people of Puducherry for their support and said the new government would focus on welfare and development initiatives. "It is our government's duty to implement all necessary schemes for the welfare of the people even more effectively. We will certainly fulfil this responsibility with excellence," the Chief Minister said.
"We are going to develop our Puducherry like Singapore, maybe," he told ANI.
BJP leader A Namassivayam also took oath as a Cabinet minister in the Puducherry government. He said the administration would continue existing welfare schemes while introducing new initiatives for the development of the Union Territory. AINRC leader Malladi Krishna Rao, who is also set to be inducted into the Cabinet, said the portfolios would likely be allocated within a week.
The oath-taking ceremony followed the Puducherry Assembly election results declared on May 4, in which the NDA retained power in the Union Territory.
In the Assembly elections, NR Congress secured 12 of 30 seats, while the BJP won four seats. AIADMK bagged one seat. The DMK won five seats, and Congress secured one seat. Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) also opened its account by winning two seats in its debut election in the UT.
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