Today, the senior leader of the Congress, V. D. Satheesan, swore his oath to Kerala as the 13th Chief Minister for the state, marking the Congress party’s return to power after a decade-long rule by the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF).
Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar, Governor of Kerala, personally gave the oath of office and secrecy during a splendid swearing-in ceremony at Central Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram. Satheesan then swore an oath in the name of God, and it ended with loud applause from party members or supporters on foot in the venue.
In the ceremony were Congress leaders like Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. Among the Chief Ministers from all Congress-ruled states who took part in the ceremony were Siddaramaiah, Revanth Reddy and Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu. Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D. K. Shivakumar was present as well.
The ceremony also included outgoing Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, BJP state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar, CPI state secretary Binoy Viswam and leaders of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML). Satheesan was sworn in with 20 other ministers from the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) cabinet.
#WATCH | Congress leader VD Satheesan takes oath as Chief Minister of Keralam at the Central Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram
— ANI (@ANI) May 18, 2026
(Source: PRD) pic.twitter.com/MKCPgnpO3F
Among the more recently inducted cabinet members were senior political leaders of the Congress, including Ramesh Chennithala, K. Muraleedharan, A. P. Anil Kumar and Sunny Joseph, chief of KPCC. The full cabinet comprises VD Satheesan, Ramesh Chennithala, PK Kunhalikutty, Sunny Joseph, K Muraleedharan, Mons Joseph, Shibu Baby John, Anoop Jacob, CP John, AP Anil Kumar, N Samsudheen, PC Vishnunath, Roji M John, Bindu Krishna, M Liju, KM Shaji, PK Basheer, VE Abdul Gafoor, T Siddique, KA Thulasi, and OJ Janeesh.
The Congress-led UDF obtained a definite mandate in its latest Assembly elections, defeating its leftist challenger, the Left Democratic Front, after two successive elections. Only the Congress won 63 seats while the coalition secured 102 seats in the 140-member Assembly.
The IUML added 22 seats to the coalition’s total. The LDF was cut to 35 seats, while the BJP secured 3 of those seats. This development is seen by political analysts in southern India as a monumental victory for the Congress, while Kerala entered the association along with Karnataka and Telangana.
In the months to come, the new government wants to focus on creating jobs, developing infrastructure, funding social spending and revamping the economy. Satheesan now has work to do to act on winning election promises made in the Assembly after being famous for playing an aggressive opposition role.
