Keralam: VD Satheesan sworn in as new CM, holds first cabinet meet

Congress leader VD Satheesan was sworn in as the new Chief Minister of Keralam, bringing the UDF back to power after a 10-year hiatus. The UDF secured a decisive mandate in the 2026 Keralam Assembly elections, ending the LDF's 10-year rule.

Shortly after taking charge as the Keralam Chief Minister, VD Satheesan on Monday held the first cabinet meeting. Congress leader VD Satheesan was sworn in as the new Chief Minister of Keralam, earlier today, officially bringing the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) back to power after a ten-year hiatus, following their landslide victory in the 2026 Assembly elections.

Keralam Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar administered the oath of office to Satheesan and his 20-member Cabinet. The ceremony saw a massive turnout of top political heavyweights, signalling the national significance of the UDF's victory.

Star-Studded Swearing-in Ceremony

The event was attended by: Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, MP Priyanka Gandhi, and General Secretary KC Venugopal. It included Congress Chief Ministers and Deputy Chief Ministers like Siddaramaiah (Karnataka), alongside Deputy CM DK Shivakumar, Revanth Reddy (Telangana), and Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu (Himachal Pradesh). Former Keralam CM Pinarayi Vijayan, former Assembly Speaker AN Shamsheer, Keralam BJP President Rajeev Chandrasekhar, and CPI leader Binoy Viswam also attended the swearing-in ceremony.

New Cabinet and Key Appointments

Alongside Chief Minister VD Satheesan, a 20-member Cabinet took the oath. Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) leader PK Kunhalikutty was the first minister to take the oath after Chief Minister Satheesan.

Senior Congress leaders Ramesh Chennithala, Sunny Joseph and K Muraleedharan also took oath as ministers in the new government. Senior alliance leaders Mons Joseph from Kerala Congress and Shibu Baby John of the Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP), both constituents of the UDF alliance, were sworn in as ministers.

Congress leaders Anoop Jacob, CP John and AP Anil Kumar also took the oath, along with IUML leader N Samsudheen. Congress MLAs PC Vishnunath and Roji M John were sworn in as ministers by the Governor. Congress leaders Bindu Krishna and M Liju also took oath as ministers in the new UDF government.

IUML leaders KM Shaji, PK Basheer and VE Abdul Gafoor were among the ministers sworn into the Cabinet, joining fellow IUML leaders PK Kunhalikutty and N Samsudheen. Other ministers in the Cabinet include T Siddique, KA Thulasi and OJ Janeesh.

Ahead of the ceremony, Satheesan had announced that senior Congress leader Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan will serve as Speaker of the Assembly, while Shanimol Usman would be the Deputy Speaker. MLA Apu John Joseph has been appointed as the Government Chief Whip.

Satheesan also said social and regional balance, along with representation for women and the Scheduled Castes, were key considerations in the Cabinet formation. "We have 63 MLAs, some are more eligible than others, but unfortunately, we have to consider the social and regional balance and the representation of women and Dalit representation. We are not able to include all the eligible persons in the Cabinet. We have included two members from the SC, and women's representation has been ensured," he said.

About the New Chief Minister

The swearing-in ceremony comes after the UDF secured a decisive mandate in the 2026 Keralam Assembly elections, ending the Left Democratic Front's (LDF) 10-year rule in the state. Satheesan won the 2026 Assembly election from the Paravur constituency, securing his sixth consecutive term as an MLA. Satheesan secured 78,658 votes and defeated CPI candidate ET Taison Master by a margin of 20,600 votes.

He has represented the Paravur constituency for 25 years, having first won the seat in 2001. Born in 1964 in Nettoor near Kochi, Satheesan is a lawyer by profession. He began his political journey through the Kerala Students Union (KSU) and later became active in the Youth Congress.

He also served as the Vice President of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee and succeeded Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala as the Leader of the Opposition after the 2021 Kerala Assembly election. As the Leader of the Opposition in the Kerala Legislative Assembly since 2021, Satheesan emerged as a prominent face of the United Democratic Front (UDF) campaign against the ruling Left government. He has been a vocal critic of the state government on various political and governance issues. (ANI)

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