THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Uma Thomas was sworn in as an MLA of the Kerala Legislative Assembly on Wednesday by Speaker M.B. Rajesh at his office room on the Assembly campus after winning the Thrikkakara Assembly by-election on May 31.
Uma is the widow of P.T. Thomas, a two-term congressman from Thrikkakara who died in December of last year. She won by over 25,000 votes, much to everyone's astonishment, given that the Left, backed by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, had conducted a scorching campaign, fielding interventional cardiologist Joe Joseph and announcing that the Congress stronghold of Thrikkakara would be penetrated.
Congress veterans Oommen Chandy and M.M. Hassan, as well as several other Congress and United Democratic Front legislators, were present at the swearing-in.
The ruling Left has 99 members in the 140-member Kerala Assembly, while the Congress-led UDF presently has 41. The only woman legislator among the 41 is K.K. Rema, who represents the Revolutionary Marxist Party, a close ally of the Congress, and now that Uma has been sworn in, the opposing bench will include two women.
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