Pinarayi Vijayan-led Kerala govt's swearing-in today, number of attendees restricted to 500

On Wednesday, the Kerala High Court ruled that a physical swearing-in ceremony of the government will be permitted as long as the number of people participating are restricted to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

Pinarayi Vijayan-led Left Democratic Party (LDF) government in Kerala will be sworn in on Thursday following coronavirus disease (Covid-19) appropriate protocols. The ceremony will take place at a stadium in Thiruvananthapuram, which has the capacity to hold around 50,000 people. The government has invited 500 guests to attend the function, news agency PTI reported.

The CPI(M)-led LDF government retained power in Kerala by winning 99 seats against 41 seats of Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) in the assembly polls.(HT_PRINT)

On Wednesday, the Kerala High Court ruled that a physical swearing-in ceremony of the government will be permitted as long as the number of people participating are restricted to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

"Though states like West Bengal and Tamil Nadu, with more number of legislators in the Assembly have performed the swearing-in ceremony with lesser number, the government of Kerala, a forerunner in Covid-19 management, should restrict the number to the maximum to avoid the spread of Covid-19," the court said.

The chief minister is expected to have a 21-member cabinet, out of which the CPI(M) will have 12 ministerial berths, CPI will have four and Kerala Congress (M), Janata Dal (S) and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) will have one each.

"The remaining two ministerial posts will be shared between other allies on an alternate basis, the first two and half years with Janadhipatya Kerala Congress and Indian National League after which Kerala Congress (B) and Congress (S) take possession of the chair respectively. CPM will hold the speaker post, CPI will be given deputy speaker post and chief whip post to Kerala Congress (M)," Communist Party of India Marxist (CPIM)'s acting state secretary and Left Democratic Front (LDF) convener A Vijayaraghavan told ANI.

In the recently-concluded polls, the CPI(M)-led LDF government retained power in Kerala by winning 99 seats against 41 seats of Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) in the assembly polls. BJP could not win any seat.