Thiruvananthapuram: Chief Minister-designate V D Satheesan is set to take oath as the Chief Minister of Keralam on Monday at 10 am at the Central Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram, along with his full Council of Ministers, marking the return of the United Democratic Front (UDF) to power after a decade.
The 20-member Cabinet that will take oath along with Satheesan includes senior Congress leaders Ramesh Chennithala, K Muraleedharan and KPCC chief Sunny Joseph, along with Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) leaders PK Kunhalikutty, PK Basheer, N Samsudheen, KM Shaji and VE Abdul Gafoor.
Other ministers in the Cabinet are Mons Joseph, Shibu Baby John, Anoop Jacob, CP John, AP Anil Kumar, T Siddique, PC Vishnunath, Roji M John, Bindu Krishna, M Liju, KA Thulasi and O J Janeesh.
Satheesan also announced that senior Congress leader Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan will serve as Speaker of the Assembly, while Shanimol Usman will be the Deputy Speaker. MLA Apu John Joseph has been appointed as the Government Chief Whip.
The swearing-in ceremony comes after the UDF secured a decisive mandate in the 2026 Keralam Assembly elections, ending the Left Democratic Front's (LDF) 10-year rule in the state.
Satheesan, on Sunday, formally announced the 20-member Cabinet and later met Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar at Lok Bhavan to submit the list of ministers who will take oath along with him.
Addressing a press conference after meeting the Governor, Satheesan said the entire Cabinet would be sworn in together with the Chief Minister after nearly six decades.
"Along with the Chief Minister, the full Cabinet will take the oath together after nearly six decades. Among the 63 Congress MLAs, there are many deserving leaders. Several deserving leaders have also been left out and remain outside the Cabinet. There is sadness and difficulty in that. Various limitations, criteria and social realities led to such decisions," Satheesan said.
He said the government formation process was completed in record time after extensive consultations within the Congress party and coalition partners.
"We have discussed with the coalition partners, we have interacted with all Congress leaders within the party, and within 24 hours, we have completed the entire process. This is the fastest in the history of Kerala," he added.
Satheesan also said social and regional balance, along with representation for women and the Scheduled Castes, were key considerations in the Cabinet formation.
"We have 63 MLAs, some are more eligible than others, but unfortunately, we have to consider the social and regional balance and the representation of women and Dalit representation. We are not able to include all the eligible persons in the Cabinet. We have included two members from the SC, and women's representation has been ensured," he said.
The Chief Minister-designate further said that allocation of portfolios had been almost finalised and only minor corrections remained.
"Usually, the list is submitted to the Governor after the swearing-in ceremony, and that will be done tomorrow (today). Following that, the government's Gazette notification will be issued," he said.
Senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala, who is also set to take oath as minister, said the leadership had completed all internal consultations regarding the Cabinet formation.
"The Chief Minister, V D Satheesan, has already submitted the list to the Governor of Kerala. The Congress party has very senior people. We cannot accommodate everybody in the Cabinet. But we try to accommodate most of the people. The spectacular victory which has been given by the people of Kerala should be respected. We will give good governance to the people of Kerala," Chennithala said.
He also reiterated that the Congress-IUML alliance remained strong and intact.
The IUML confirmed that it will have five ministers in the new Cabinet, including PK Kunhalikutty, PK Basheer, N Samsudheen, KM Shaji and VE Abdul Gafoor. The party also announced that Kuttiadi MLA Parakkal Abdulla would be inducted into the Cabinet after two-and-a-half years as part of an internal arrangement.
Ahead of the oath-taking ceremony, several leaders designated as ministers expressed gratitude to the party leadership and assured that the new government would work to fulfil the promises made to the people.
Congress MLA Roji M John thanked the party leadership for entrusting him with the responsibility and said the government would strive to meet public expectations.
"People of Kerala have given us a huge mandate, and they have a lot of expectations from this government. We will definitely try our best to fulfil all the promises that we have made," he said.
Senior Congress leader K Muraleedharan said the new government would begin implementing its electoral promises in a phased manner.
"The new government will take over tomorrow. We will fulfil our promises to the people. Tomorrow will be a new start. We will implement our five guarantees, especially the free journey for ladies. Step by step, we will fulfil our promises," he said.
IUML leaders PK Basheer, N Samsudheen and VE Abdul Gafoor also expressed happiness over being inducted into the Cabinet and assured commitment to serving the people of the state.
The UDF registered a landslide victory in the 2026 Assembly elections, winning 102 seats in the 140-member House. The Congress emerged as the single-largest party with 63 seats, while the IUML won 22 seats. The LDF was reduced to 35 seats, while the BJP won three constituencies.
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