Senior Congress leader VD Satheesan took oath as the 13th chief minister of Kerala at a packed Central Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram on Monday, marking the return of the Congress-led United Democratic Front (LDF) rule in the southern state after a decade of Left Front regime.
Besides Satheesan, his 20-member Cabinet, including senior leaders and former ministers Ramesh Chennithata, who was also in the race for the CM post, K Muraleedharan, AP Anil Kumar and state party chief Sunny Joseph, was also sworn in by Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar.
Top Congress leaders, including party president Mallikarjun Kharge, leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah, his Telangana and Himachal Pradesh counterparts A Revanth Reddy and Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, respectively, as well as Karnataka deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar were present at the swearing-in ceremony, which lasted about an hour and half. Former chief minister and CPI(M) Politburo member Pinarayi Vijayan, BJP state chief Rajeev Chandrasekhar, CPI(M) state secretary MV Govindan and CPI state secretary Binoy Viswam were also present.
Soon after the swearing-in ceremony, the new cabinet, chaired by Satheesan, held its first meeting at the state secretariat and approved a slew of welfare measures, including free rides in state-run KSRTC buses for women from June 15, a ₹3,000 increase in the monthly honorariums of Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) and the formation of a dedicated department for the welfare of the elderly in the state.
Two of these announcements— the free bus rides for women and the department to look after the welfare of the elderly population — were among the five “Indira Guarantees” promised by the UDF in the run-up to the April 9 assembly polls. Satheesan said details of the scheme’s implementation would be announced later and that the other promises would be implemented in a phased manner.
Speaking about the dedicated department for the elderly, the chief minister told reporters: “In my knowledge, Kerala will be the first in India to have such a department. Japan has a large elderly population and a model that can be emulated. We will conduct studies on how Japan’s model can be replicated here.”
Satheesan also announced key decisions related to the convening of the new Assembly session on May 21 and 22 for the swearing-in of MLAs and the election of the Speaker. The Governor’s policy address will take place on May 29.
The new Cabinet also approved the constitution of a special investigation team (SIT) to reinvestigate a case related to the alleged assault on two Youth Congress workers by gunmen of the then CM Vijayan during a protest against the Nava Kerala Yatra in Alappuzha in 2023.
“The high court had recommended a reinvestigation into the incident, but the LDF government did not conduct it. We have decided to order it,” said Satheesan, dismissing the suggestion that it was a political “revenge”.
The UDF swept the recently concluded Kerala assembly polls, winning 102 of the state’s 140 seats, ousting the Vijayan-led LDF government. The LDF won 35 seats while the BJP won the remaining three seats, its best ever performance in Kerala.
Satheesan was named as the Congress Legislature Party leader 10 days after the May 4 results amid hectic lobbying in a three-corner race also involving senior Congress leader Chennithala and AICC general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal, to the top post.
In the 21-member cabinet, including the CM, sworn-in on Monday, 12 are from the Congress, five from the UDF’s second-largest partner, the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), and one minister each from Kerala Congress (Joseph), Kerala Congress (Jacob), Communist Marxist Party (CMP) and Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP).
The ministers from the Congress are Chennithala, Muraleedharan, AP Anil Kumar, Sunny Joseph, PC Vishnunadh, Roji M John, OJ Janeesh, Bindhu Krishna, KA Thulasi, T Siddique, and M Liju. From IUML, PK Kunhalikutty, PK Basheer, KM Shaji, N Shamsudheen and VE Abdul Gafoor took oath as the minister, as did allies Anoop Jacob, CP John, Shibu Baby John and Mons Joseph.
All the ministers took oaths in the name of God, except Shibu Baby John and CP John, who made solemn affirmation of their commitment.
As each minister took oath, loud cheers rose from a large crowd of UDF workers and supporters present at the venue, situated near the Secretariat. Thousands of Congress workers arrived in the state capital from across Kerala for the event.
The gazette with the details of the portfolios and departments assigned to the ministers was not published till the time of going to press.
Former CM Vijayan congratulated Satheesan and expressed hope that the new UDF government would continue the welfare initiatives launched and pursued by previous administrations. Vijayan also congratulated the 21-member Cabinet and assured constructive support for all welfare schemes and activities.
