Praja Rajyam Party president Chiranjeevi was the star attraction as the 13th Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assemblys first session took off on a sober note on Wednesday. Congress legislators were a little subdued as MLA-elect from Tekkali K Revapati,50,died of a heart attack on Tuesday. This time the 294-member House has a record 147 first-time MLAs. All members were administered the oath by pro-tem Speaker J C Diwakar Reddy. Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy took the oath first followed by Leader of Opposition N Chandrababu Naidu. N Kiran Kumar Reddy,the Congress MLA from Pileru,is all set to be elected unopposed as the new Speaker with TDP deciding not to field a candidate. Kiran Kumar Reddy will be declared elected Thursday while N Manohar,Congress MLA from Tenali,will be his deputy. I was thrilled. The ambience was new to me. It is a gift of the God and people. I rededicate myself to the service of people, said Chiranjeevi on his first day as MLA. Clad in his trademark white shirt,black trousers and the partys kanduva (cloth worn around the neck),Chiranjeevi arrived in the Assembly accompanied by his party legislators. Chiranjeevi took oath in Telugu as member of the Assembly earlier in the day. I was very excited and there were many big leaders around. All these days,I have seen Assembly proceedings on TV. It is a great feeling to be a part of it myself. My life is dedicated to the service of people, he added. You dont have take one and take two here, he replied,when asked if being an MLA was different from his film roles. Meanwhile,Y S Rajasekhara Reddy on Wednesday assumed office as the CM for the second consecutive term. He took charge at 6.30 am,considered an auspicious time. Though the CM took oath on May 20 he had been running office from his official residence at Begumpet. The first session of the House will continue till June 12. Governor Narayan Dutt Tiwari will address the joint session of the Assembly and Council on June 5.
