CHENNAI: Senior legislator MV Karuppaiah, the Dalit MLA from Sholavandan, on Sunday took oath as the pro-tem Speaker of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly, setting the stage for the first session of the newly constituted 17th Assembly scheduled to commence on Monday.
Governor RV Arlekar administered the oath of office to Karuppaiah at a ceremony held at Lok Bhavan in Chennai in the presence of Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay, members of the State Cabinet and senior officials.
Karuppaiah, who crossed over from the AIADMK to the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) ahead of the Assembly election, had earlier represented the Sholavandan constituency between 2011 and 2016 as an AIADMK MLA. He was fielded again from the same constituency by TVK in the 2026 election and secured victory.
As pro-tem Speaker, Karuppaiah will administer oath or affirmation to the newly elected members of the Assembly when the House meets for its maiden sitting at 9.30 am on Monday at the Assembly Chamber in the Secretariat.
According to an official communication issued by the Assembly Secretariat, all elected members have been instructed to bring their Certificate of Election without fail while presenting themselves before the Chair for taking oath or affirmation.
The first sitting assumes significance as it marks the formal commencement of proceedings of the 17th Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly following the emphatic electoral victory of the TVK.
The Assembly Secretariat further announced that the election to the posts of Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the House would be held at 9.30 am on Tuesday.