Newly-elected Gujarat MLAs take oath

The majority of the 182 newly-elected MLAs of Gujarat today took oath in a ceremony held at the state secretariat in Gandhinagar.
They were administered the oath by protem Speaker Nimaben Acharya.
The new Speaker of the 14th Assembly would be elected during the upcoming Budget session, scheduled to begin on February 19, an official release said.
Among those who took oath were Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, his deputy Nitin Patel, Leader of Opposition Paresh Dhanani and other MLAs, it said.
Out of the total 182 MLAs, around five to six legislators could not attend the function due to various reasons, said ruling BJP's chief whip Pankaj Desai.

"All those who were absent today can take the oath in the protem Speaker's office till February 17," said Desai.
The new government headed by Rupani was sworn in on December 26 last year at a ceremony attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP top brass.
In the 182-member House, the BJP, which won the sixth straight term in the closely-contested polls, holds 99 seats, followed by the Congress (77).