Chief Minister-designate V.D. Satheesan during a press conference announcing names of Cabinet Ministers at Cantonment House, in Thiruvananthapuram on May 17, 2026. Photo: Special Arrangement
A day before of his swearing-in ceremony, Kerala’s Chief Minister-designate V.D. Satheesan on Sunday (May 17, 2026) unveiled the 20-member Council of Ministers of the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) government.
Congress will have 11 Ministers in the Cabinet – Ramesh Chennithala, Sunny Joseph, K. Muraleedharan, A.P. Anil Kumar, P.C. Vishnunadh, T. Siddique, Bindu Krishna, K.A. Thulasi, Roji M. John, M. Liju and O.J. Janeesh.
Also read | IUML to get five Cabinet posts in UDF government in Kerala
Five Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) MLAs — P.K. Kunhalikutty, N. Shamsudeen, K.M. Shaji, P.K. Basheer and V.E. Abdul Gafoor – will be sworn in as Ministers. Mons Joseph from Kerala Congress (Joseph), Shibu Baby John of the Revolutionary Socialist Party, Anoop Jacob from Kerala Congress (Jacob) and C.P. John of the Communist Marxist Party are the Ministers-designate from the other coalition partners in the UDF.
Senior Congress leader Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan will be the Speaker of the Kerala Legislative Assembly and Congress leader Shanimol Usman will be the Deputy Speaker, Mr. Satheesan said.
The IUML said its MLA Parakkal Abdulla will replace one of the party’s Ministers after two-and-a-half years so that Kozhikode district gets represented in the Cabinet.
Mr. Satheesan read out the names of the Ministers-designate after calling on Governor Rajendra Arlekar at the Lok Bhavan on Sunday evening to hand over the list of Ministers.
Addressing a press conference, Mr. Satheesan said portfolio allocation is being given final touches. The details will be shared with the Governor after Monday’s swearing-in ceremony and will be published through a government gazette.
Mr. Satheesan said a “complete Cabinet” will be sworn in together for the first time in 60 years. He pointed out that the Cabinet has two women and two Ministers from the Scheduled Caste communities.
“We are very much delighted to say that we have completed the process within 24 hours. It is the fastest in the history of Kerala. This is because after the election, team UDF has remained team UDF,” he said. Of the 63 Congress MLAs in the 102-strong UDF contingent in the State Assembly, many eligible names could not be given Ministerial berths as the party had to consider social and regional equations, he said.
Apu John Joseph will be the Chief Whip of the UDF government, Kerala Congress chairman P.J. Joseph. informed Mr. Satheesan.
Extensive arrangements have been made for the swearing-in ceremony scheduled for 10 a.m. at the Central Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram where the Governor will administer the oath of office to Mr. Satheesan and his Cabinet.
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 Revant Reddy, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, Pinarayi Vijayan (who will be Kerala’s new Opposition leader), BJP State president and MLA Rajeev Chandrasekhar and CPI State secretary Binoy Viswam will attend the function, Mr. Satheesan said.
Describing himself as a “Nehruvian socialist”, Kerala’s next Chief Minister said the UDF government will work towards creating a “Puthuyuga Keralam.”
Published – May 17, 2026 09:13 pm IST
