CPM leader Pinarayi Vijayan took oath as the chief minister of Kerala today. (ANI photo)
NEW DELHI: CPM leader Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday took oath for a second consecutive term as chief minister of Kerala breaking the decades-old alternate shift of power between Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the United Democratic Front (UDF) in the state.
Governor Arif Mohammed Khan administered the oath of office to 76-year-old Vijayan in a low-key function at the Central Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram, which was held completely in adherence with the Covid protocol.
It is the second stint of the Marxist veteran in the top office.
Opposition Congress-UDF leaders kept away from the function in view of the Covid-19 spread.
The Kerala High Court on Wednesday directed the government to restrict the number of participants in the ceremony view of the pandemic.
He has become the only third chief minister in the state to be re-elected and the first to continue in office after completing a full term.
Vijayan,76, joined the Communist Party of India Marxist (CPM) in 1964 and was elected as the 12th chief minister of Kerala after LDF came to power in 2016.
(With agency inputs)
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