KOLKATA: West Bengal Governor CV Anand Bose has authorized the Deputy Speaker to oversee the swearing-in of two newly elected TMC MLAs in the Assembly on Friday, a senior Raj Bhavan official said.

"The Governor has authorized Assembly Deputy Speaker Ashish Banerjee to conduct the swearing-in ceremony in the Assembly tomorrow," the official said on Thursday.

Earlier in the day, Speaker Biman Banerjee called a special session of the Assembly starting at 2 pm on Friday, emphasizing that the functioning of the House is not entirely dependent on the Governor.

Earlier, the Speaker had sought President Draupadi Murmu's intervention to resolve the swearing-in issue and accused the Governor of turning it into a battle of egos.

Two MLAs – Rayat Hussain Sarkar and Sayantika Banerjee – were elected in by-elections held simultaneously with the Lok Sabha elections, but refused to take oath at the Raj Bhavan.

He argued that tradition dictates that the Governor should appoint the Assembly Speaker or the Deputy Speaker to administer the oath in case of by-election winners.

Last Wednesday, the Governor had invited him to take oath at the Raj Bhavan, which he declined citing procedural norms.