Newly elected members of the Kottayam District panchayat were sworn in at a ceremony held at the District Panchayat Auditorium here on Sunday. District Collector and Returning Officer Chetan Kumar Meena administered the oath first to the senior-most member, Thomas Kunnappally, who then administered the oath to the remaining members.
Simultaneously, elected representatives to the district’s municipalities, block panchayats and grama panchayats also took the oath of office. In each local body, the senior-most elected member was sworn in first before the Returning Officer, following which the oath was administered to the other members. The first meeting of the newly constituted bodies was held after the swearing-in ceremonies.
The senior-most members who took the oath first at the six municipalities in the district were Joyi Mannamala (Ettumanoor), Abdul Salam Rawther (Vaikom), Sally Mathew (Kottayam), Prasannakumari Teacher (Changanassery), Shaju Thuruthan (Pala) and Subair Vellappallil (Erumely).
In Pathanamthitta, the oath-taking ceremony for the 17 newly elected District Panchayat members was held at the District Planning Secretariat Conference Hall. District Collector and District Election Officer S. Prem Krishnan administered the oath first to senior-most member Sam Eappen, who later administered it to the other elected members.
Following the ceremony, the first meeting of the District Panchayat was held at the District Panchayat Conference Hall under the chairmanship of Sam Eappen. The election to the posts of District Panchayat president and vice-president will be held on December 27 at the same venue.
Published – December 21, 2025 07:31 pm IST
