TVK Minister S Keerthana was unable to take oath as a Member of the Legislative Assembly in the Tamil Nadu Assembly on Monday, 11 May 2026, after she failed to produce her Certificate of Election, which is a mandatory requirement for administering the oath, as reported in The New Indian Express.
The incident occurred during the swearing-in proceedings for newly elected MLAs in the Assembly. Assembly Principal Secretary K Srinivasan called out Keerthana’s name and invited her to take the oath. She then walked towards the podium placed in front of Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay’s chair.
Traditionally, MLAs taking oath face the chair of the pro tem speaker during the process. However, as Keerthana approached the podium, Srinivasan was seen in the live Assembly telecast raising his hand and asking her for the Certificate of Election. The conversation between the two was not audible in the broadcast.
Since Keerthana was reportedly unable to produce the document, she was not administered the oath.
Speaking about the development, an official said the minister did not have the Certificate of Election readily available at the time of the proceedings.
“It seems she did not have her Certificate of Election with her readily. Since she could not submit the certificate, the senior official politely declined to allow her to take oath. She may take oath whenever she submits her Certificate of Election,” the official said.
The official further stated that all newly elected MLAs had been instructed in advance to bring their Certificates of Election without fail and that the requirement had also been specifically mentioned in an official government press note issued before the Assembly session.
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Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay and the other MLAs who took oath reportedly submitted their Certificates of Election before being administered the oath, in accordance with constitutional procedures.
Keerthana, who was elected from the Sivakasi Assembly constituency, was the ninth minister in the Cabinet order to be invited for the oath-taking ceremony. In the recently concluded Assembly election, she defeated Congress candidate Ashokan G by a margin of 11,670 votes. Former minister and AIADMK leader KT Rajenthrabhalaji finished in third place in the constituency.
The effective strength of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly currently stands at 233 after Chief Minister Vijay, who had won from both the Perambur and Trichy East constituencies, resigned his Trichy East seat following the election results.
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