Three-time Rohini MLA and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Vijender Gupta was elected the Speaker of Delhi’s eighth Legislative Assembly on Monday after pro tem Speaker Arvinder Singh Lovely administered oath to the legislators.

Several legislators in the 70-member House took the oath in their native languages, including Maithili (spoken widely in Bihar) and Punjabi, while many others opted for Hindi, Urdu, Sanskrit, and English.

Addressing the House after being elected, Mr. Gupta said, “Members of the ruling and the Opposition parties are equal for me. Protecting the democratic values of the House will be my priority. We all must work together for the development of Delhi.”

Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said, “I have full faith that the House will run smoothly under your guidance. As Leader of the Opposition (in the previous Legislative Assembly), you faced several issues; you were marshalled out several times.”

The day started with Lieutenant-Governor V.K. Saxena swearing in Mr. Lovely, the most senior MLA in the House, as pro tem Speaker at Raj Niwas.

The Gandhi Nagar MLA then started proceedings in the House by administering oath to Ms. Gupta and the Cabinet Ministers.

Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa took the oath in Punjabi, while Law Minister Kapil Mishra did so in Sanskrit. Several MLAs, including AAP’s Sanjeev Jha, took the oath in Maithili. Aaley Mohammad Iqbal of AAP took the oath in Urdu. Mr. Lovely objected to BJP’s Tarvinder Singh Marwah raising religious slogans after taking the oath. He also criticised AAP’s Anil Jha for chanting “Jai Bhim” after his swearing-in and asked all MLAs to stick to the printed text.

Following the oaths, Mr. Gupta was elected as Speaker and, as per tradition, accompanied to the chair by the Chief Minister.