&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "CM-elect VD Satheesan unveils Kerala cabinet ahead of swearing-in ceremony on Monday")
Ahead of the swearing-in ceremony of the new Kerala government on Monday, chief minister-designate V D Satheesan on Sunday (May 17) met Governor Rajendra Arlekar and submitted the final list of his proposed cabinet ministers, including three women.
Addressing a press conference at Cantonment House in Thiruvananthapuram, Satheesan announced the names of 20 ministers who will take the oath along with him at the ceremony scheduled for Monday morning.
The cabinet includes senior leaders such as Ramesh Chennithala, KPCC chief Sunny Joseph and K Muraleedharan.
“Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan will be the Speaker and Shanymol Usman will be the Deputy Speaker,” Satheesan said, adding that Kerala Congress chief P J Joseph will serve as the Chief Whip.
UDF government to take oath on Monday
The United Democratic Front (UDF) government is scheduled to be sworn in on Monday at 10 am at the Central Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram.
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“After 60 years, the full cabinet of UDF is going to be sworn in tomorrow at 10 am. Today, the 20 ministers' list we have submitted to the Governor. Twenty-one ministers will be sworn in along with me,” Satheesan said.
Explaining the cabinet formation, he said social, regional and community representation had been taken into account while selecting ministers.
“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, two women are in the Cabinet, and one Deputy Speaker is a woman. We have done the maximum to accommodate...” he said.
Satheesan also said several senior Congress leaders would attend the swearing-in ceremony, including Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.
Congress gets 11 berths, IUML five in new UDF cabinet
On portfolio allocation, Satheesan said, “The allocation of departments has been almost finalised, with only a few minor corrections remaining.”
The Congress nominees in the cabinet include VD Satheesan, Ramesh Chennithala, K Muraleedharan, Sunny Joseph, Bindhu Krishna, AP Anil Kumar, PC Vishnunadh, M Liju, Roji M John, T Siddique, OJ Janeesh and KA Thulasi.
The IUML representatives are PK Kunhalikutty, PK Basheer, N Shamsudeen, KM Shaji and VE Abdul Gafoor. Other alliance partners include Mons Joseph from Kerala Congress, Shibu Baby John from RSP, Anoop Jacob from Kerala Congress (Jacob) and CP John from CMP.
Satheesan led the Congress-led UDF to a decisive victory in the 2026 Kerala Assembly elections, ending the Left Democratic Front’s decade-long rule in the state. The Congress won 63 seats, while the UDF secured 102 seats in the 140-member Assembly. The LDF won 35 seats, while the BJP managed to win three constituencies.
