Vadasseri Damodara Menon Satheesan, who led the Congress-led UDF back to power in Kerala after a decade by decimating the Left front, took oath as Kerala Chief Minister on Monday. His 20 Cabinet members, including Ramesha Chennithala who was in the CM race earlier, were also sworn in at a grand function here with Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar administering the oath of office. Alliance parties, including the UDF's second largest constituent IUML, have also been accommodated in the ministry.
Satheesan took the oath in the name of God, and amidst loud cheers from the hundreds of supporters who had poured in to the state capital from various parts of Kerala. Besides Satheesan, the new Cabinet includes senior Congress leaders Chennithala, K Muraleedharan, AP Anil Kumar and state party chief Sunny Joseph.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and senior party leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, among others, attended the swearing-in ceremony. Senior IUML leader PK Kunhalikutty, RSP leader Shibu Baby John, Kerala Congress leader Mons Joseph, Kerala Congress (Jacob) leader Anoop Jacob, and CMP leader CP John were also sworn-in as ministers.
There are 14 new faces in the Cabinet, including CM Satheesan, who is holding such a government position for the first time despite being elected from Paravur since 2001.
His ministry also includes two women— Kollam MLA Bindhu Krishna and Kongad legislator KA Thulasi, the latter also being a member of the Scheduled Caste community.
The second member of the SC community in the Cabinet is AP Anil Kumar. CMP leader John and IUML leaders N Shamsuddin, KM Shaji, PK Basheer and VE Abdul Gafoor are the other new faces in the Cabinet. Congress leaders PC Vishnunadh, Roji M John, T Siddique and OJ Janeesh are also among the first-time ministers.
Chief Ministers of Congress-ruled states, Siddaramaiah (Karnataka), A Revanth Reddy (Telangana) and Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu (Himachal Pradesh), Karnataka deputy CM DK Shivakumar were in attendance.
Satheesan's predecessor and Marxist veteran Pinarayi Vijayan, Left leaders, and Bharatiya Janata Party representatives also attended the ceremony. As each Cabinet minister took oath, loud cheers rose from thousands of UDF workers and supporters present at the venue. Thousands of Congress workers arrived in the state capital from across Kerala for the event.
The Assembly elections to the 140-member House were held on April 9, with results declared on May 4. The Congress-led UDF won 102 seats, the LDF secured 35, and the BJP won three.
Also read: Malayalam movie artistes felicitate CM VD Satheesan
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