Guwahati, May 21 -- The first session of the newly elected 16th Assam Assembly began on Thursday with legislators taking oath and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Ranjeet Kumar Dass being unanimously elected speaker for a second term.

The four-day session began with the appointment of BJP MLA Chandra Mohan Patowary, the eldest legislator in the 126-member Assembly, as the pro tem Speaker of the House.

The 70-year-old legislator from Tihu first administered the oath to chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and the four cabinet ministers - Atul Bora (from Asom Gana Parishad), Rameswar Teli and Ajanta Neog (both from BJP), and Charan Boro (Bodoland Peoples Front).

This was followed by the swearing-in of the other MLAs. Legislators took the o...