Kerala Chief Minister-designate VD Satheesan will take oath along with 20 ministers in Thiruvananthapuram on Monday as the United Democratic Front (UDF) returns to power in the state after a decade.
The new cabinet will include 11 ministers from the Congress and five from alliance partner Indian Union Muslim League (IUML). The UDF secured a sweeping victory in the recently concluded Assembly elections, winning 102 of Kerala’s 140 seats. The Left Democratic Front (LDF) won 35 seats, while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) secured three seats, its best-ever performance in the state.
Speaking after submitting the list of ministers to Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar at Lok Bhavan, Satheesan said the final list was prepared after extensive consultations among alliance leaders, keeping social and regional representation in mind.
“There are deserving leaders among the 63 MLAs of the Congress who we could not, unfortunately, accommodate. As a party, the Congress has to look at social and regional balance too. The list was formed after several rounds of consultations with senior UDF leaders," Satheesan said.
He added that portfolio allocation was nearly finalised and further discussions would be held with alliance partners before details are submitted to the Governor after the swearing-in ceremony.
“Usually, portfolio details are submitted to the Governor after the swearing-in ceremony. We will submit them on Monday. After the Governor’s approval, it will be published as a gazette notification," he said.
Satheesan was chosen as Congress Legislature Party leader 10 days after the May 4 election results following intense lobbying involving senior Congress leaders Ramesh Chennithala and K C Venugopal.
The list of ministers includes senior Congress leaders and former ministers Chennithala, K Muraleedharan and A P Anil Kumar, along with KPCC chief Sunny Joseph and KPCC working presidents P C Vishnunadh and T Siddique.
Chennithala is likely to handle the home and vigilance portfolios. Speculation intensified after state police chief Ravada Chandrasekhar and ADGP H Venkatesh met him at his residence in Thiruvananthapuram.
“We also sought his directions and instructions. We discussed the swearing-in programme and the arrangements made for it," Chandrasekhar said when asked whether the visit was linked to Chennithala becoming home minister.
Sunny Joseph, who defeated CPI(M) veteran K K Shailaja in Peravoor, is expected to be given the revenue portfolio and will be the only cabinet representative from Kannur district.
Muraleedharan, who lost the 2024 Lok Sabha polls from Thrissur to the BJP but won the Assembly election from Vattiyoorkavu, is likely to get the health and temple affairs portfolios.
Among the ministers, Satheesan, Chennithala, Muraleedharan and Vishnunadh belong to the Nair community, while Anil Kumar represents the Scheduled Caste (SC) community.
Bindhu Krishna and KA Thulasi will be the two women ministers in the cabinet. Both are first-time MLAs and belong to the Ezhava and SC communities, respectively.
Other Congress leaders included in the ministry are third-time MLA M Liju, youth leader Roji M John and Youth Congress state president OJ Janeesh.
The cabinet composition reflects efforts by the Congress to maintain social, religious and regional balance. The ministry includes five leaders from the Nair community, three from the OBC Ezhava community, two from the SC community and two Christian leaders. However, despite the Congress winning two Scheduled Tribe-reserved seats, no ST representative has been included in the cabinet.
