UDF Government Led By V D Satheesan Takes Charge In Kerala

Thiruvananthapuram: Bringing an end to the decade-long rule of the LDF, Vadassery Damodaran Saheeshan was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Kerala at a grand ceremony held at the Central Stadium on Monday.

Governor Rajendra Viswanath Arlekar took oath as thousands of UDF supporters cheered loudly from the huge pandal. The 61-year-old leader, who was elected from Paravur in Ernakulam district for the sixth consecutive term, is now the 13th Chief Minister of Kerala.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Lok Sabha opposition leader Rahul Gandhi and Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi joined the CM and his ministers on stage. For Satheesan, it was the fulfillment of a long-cherished dream that had promised Sonia and Rahul Gandhi that the UDF would return to power with a landslide victory in the next elections in 2021.

Satheesan, who took the oath, was followed by Ministerial appointees PK Kunhalikutty, Ramesh Chennithala, Sunny Joseph, K. Muraleedharan, Mons Joseph, Shibu Baby John, Anoop Jacob, CP John, AP Anil Kumar, N. Shamsudeen, PC Vishnunadh, Roji M. John, Bindu Krishna, M. Liju, KM Shaji, PK Basheer, VE Abdul. Gafoor, T. Siddique, KA Thulasi and OJ Janeesh.

Everyone took the oath in Malayalam except K. Muraleedharan, who took the oath in English. Everyone except Shibu Baby John and CP John swore in the name of God. Representing the Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) and the Communist Marxist Party (CMP), respectively, they instead solemnly affirmed their allegiance.

The Congress has 12 members in the Cabinet, including the Prime Minister, and more than half a dozen of them are reportedly from the KC Venugopal camp. AICC general secretary (organization) Venugopal, who lost to Satheesan for the CM post in the last round despite having a majority in the CLP, had pushed for more positions for his supporters.

While the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) has five ministerial posts, the Kerala Congress (Joseph), Kerala Congress (Jacob), RSP and CMP have one ministry each. The cabinet also includes 14 new faces, including Prime Minister Satheesan.

The UDF ministry includes two women: former Mahila Congress chief Bindhu Krishna, who won from Kollam, and former State Women’s Commission member KA Thulasi, who was elected from the red bastion of Kongad. He is one of the two ministers from the Scheduled Caste community, the other being AP Anil Kumar, who previously served in the Oommen Chandy Cabinet.

New faces in the cabinet include CMP leader CP John and Indian Union Muslim League leaders N Shamsuddin, KM Shaji, PK Basheer and VE Abdul Gafoor. Congress leaders PC Vishnunadh, Roji M John, T Siddique and OJ Janeesh are also among the first-time ministers.

Congress’s OJ Janeesh is the youngest member of the Cabinet appointed at the age of 37.

The swearing-in ceremony was attended by several Congress leaders, including Chief Ministers of Congress-ruled states Siddaramaiah (Karnataka), A Revanth Reddy (Telangana) and Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu (Himachal Pradesh), along with Deputy CM of Karnataka DK Shivakumar and Deputy CM of Telangana Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka.

Former Chief Minister and current opposition leader Pinarayi Vijayan, BJP state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar MLA, CPM state secretary MV Govindan and CPI state secretary Binoy Viswam were also present. The event was marked by loud cheers from thousands of UDF workers and supporters as each Cabinet minister was sworn in.

Congress workers from across Kerala flocked to the state capital for the occasion. Parliamentary elections for the 140-member Assembly were held on 9 April and the results were announced on 4 May. Congress-led UDF won 102 seats, LDF won 35 seats and BJP won three seats. This loss was a major blow to the Left, marking the first time since 1977 that no state in India had a communist government.