A maximum of 500 people will attend the swearing-in ceremony of the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government in Kerala, slated for May 20.

The ceremony will be held at 3.30 pm at the Central Stadium in the capital city of Thiruvananthapuram, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Monday.

Governor Arif Mohammed Khan will administer the oath.

Vijayan said the stadium has been selected as the venue as an open space where Covid protocol can be followed strictly is necessary for the event. The stadium has a seating capacity of 50,000 and over 40,000 people had attended the oath-taking ceremony of the first Pinarayi Vijayan government in 2016.

Vijayan said 500 has been fixed as the number of attendees after taking into consideration all who cannot be excluded. The invitees will include representatives of different sections of society, he said. Entry to the Central Stadium will be limited only to persons having RTPCR/TRUNAT/RT LAMP negative results obtained within 48 hours or on production of final certificate of COVID vaccination.

"Five hundred is not a huge number for such a function," he said.

"Usually the oath taking ceremony has to be conducted amid the celebration of the people who have elected their government. However, unfortunately in the backdrop of the Covid pandemic, it is not possible now. Hence we have decided to hold the ceremony in a limited way," he said. 

Vijayan said even though the ceremony will take place in the stadium, the real venue will be the hearts of the people of Kerala.