Newly-elected Gujarat MLAs to be sworn-in on 23 January; protem speaker to administer oath

Ahmedabad: The Gujarat government on Friday announced that all the 182 newly-elected MLAs would take oath on 23 January while the regular Budget session, which will be the first session of the new Assembly, will commence in the third week of February. Since the Speaker of the House is not elected yet, a protem (temporary) Speaker would administer the oath at a ceremony to be held in Gandhinagar on 23 January, said state Parliamentary and Legislative Affairs Minister, Pradeepsinh Jadeja. He added that the election of the Speaker will be held in the first session of the 14th Assembly. [caption id=“attachment_4180741” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File image of Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani. PTI[/caption] “The first session of the 14th Gujarat Assembly would commence in the third week of February. The exact date will be announced after the Cabinet gives its nod. The Budget session will end on 31 March,” Jadeja told reporters in Gandhinagar. Chief Minister Vijay Rupani had on Thursday said that the MLAs delayed taking oath due to what they consider an “inauspicious” period of Makar Sankranti, which falls on 14 January. In the 182-member House, the BJP, which won a sixth straight term in the closely-contested polls, holds 99 seats, followed by the Congress with 77 seats.