Senior Congress leader V.D. Satheesan was sworn in as the new Chief Minister of Kerala along with 20 Ministers at a ceremony held at a packed Central Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram on Monday (May 18, 2026). Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar administered the oath of office and secrecy to Mr. Satheesan and the Ministers-designate over a one-hour ceremony that commenced around 10.15 a.m.
The Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) had scripted a landslide victory over the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front in the April 9 Assembly elections by claiming 102 of the 140 seats in the State Assembly.
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Mr. Satheesan, 61, who was Opposition Leader during 2021-2026, was the first to be sworn in. Mr. Arlekar read out the oath of office which Mr. Satheesan repeated after him. The procedure was repeated with the oath of secrecy. Mr. Satheesan then signed the oaths in the books kept on the table. Afterwards, Mr. Arlekar presented Mr. Satheesan with a bouquet as the stadium drowned in cheers and slogans from the crowd. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi greeted the new Chief Minister with a hug.
The Chief Secretary then presented the other Ministers-designate individually. Mr. Arlekar administered the oaths to them.
In taking the oaths, Mr. Satheesan was followed by Ministers-designate P.K. Kunhalikutty, Ramesh Chennithala, Sunny Joseph, K. Muraleedharan, Mons Joseph, Shibu Baby John, Anoop Jacob, C.P. John, A.P. Anil Kumar, N. Shamsudeen, P.C. Vishnunadh, Roji M. John, Bindu Krishna, M. Liju, K.M. Shaji, P.K. Basheer, V.E. Abdul Gafoor, T. Siddique, K.A Thulasi and O.J. Janeesh. All of them took the oath in Malayalam, except K. Muraleedharan who took the oath in English.
All except Mr. Shibu Baby John and C.P. John took the oath in the name of God. Shibu Baby John, who represents the Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP), and C.P. John, the Communist Marxist Party (CMP), made solemn affirmation of their commitment.
The Congress has 12 members in the Cabinet including the Chief Minister. The Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) has five Ministers, while the Kerala Congress (Joseph), Kerala Congress (Jacob), RSP and CMP have one each. Mr. Satheesan, who succeeds CPI(M)’s Pinarayi Vijayan as the Chief Minister, is also the 13th person to hold the post.
The portfolios of the Chief Minister and the Ministers are expected to be made public later today (Monday). Mr. Satheesan had said on Sunday (May 17) that the list would be handed over to the Governor after the swearing-in ceremony and published through a gazette notification.
Huge crowds had gathered at the Central Stadium since early morning to witness the function. Extensive arrangements, including traffic regulations, were in place across the State capital.
The ceremony commenced around 10.15 a.m. and concluded around 11.30 a.m. with the recital of the Vande Mataram followed by the National Anthem.
Among those present at the event were Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, senior leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, Pinarayi Vijayan who is set to be Kerala’s new Opposition Leader, AICC general secretaries K.C. Venugopal and Deepa Dasmunshi, BJP State president and MLA Rajeev Chandrasekhar and CPI State secretary Binoy Viswam.
Following the declaration of the election results on May 4, the Congress party had taken ten days to pick Mr. Satheesan over Mr. Chennithala and AICC general secretary K.C. Venugopal as the Congress Legislative Party leader and CM-designate. After that, the entire focus had shifted to Cabinet formation. The discussions had stretched into Sunday afternoon. Mr. Satheesan had presented the list of ministers to the Governor on Sunday (May 17) evening.
On Sunday (May 17, 2026), Mr. Satheesan had said that a “complete Cabinet” was being sworn in at one go for the first time in 60 years. The Cabinet has two women and two ministers from the scheduled caste communities. Mr. Satheesan had also stated that the UDF government was committed to working towards building a “Puthuyuga Keralam.”
Published – May 18, 2026 11:44 am IST
