Keralam Swears In New CM V.D. Satheesan, Cabinet Unveils First Set Of Welfare Measures

V.D. Satheesan was sworn in as the 13th Chief Minister of Keralam on Monday morning, bringing the Congress-led United Democratic Front back to power after a decade in the political wilderness. The oath-taking ceremony was held at Central Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram , with Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar administering the oath of office. The UDF clinched a decisive mandate in the 2026 Keralam Assembly elections, winning 102 of 140 seats and ending the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front's long reign. Satheesan noted that government formation was completed in under 24 hours, the fastest in Kerala's history.

The stadium on Monday morning was less a venue and more a statement. Senior Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra shared the dais with Satheesan and the minister-designates. Chief Ministers of Congress-governed states, Karnataka's Siddaramaiah, Deputy CM DK Shivakumar, Telangana's Revanth Reddy, and Himachal Pradesh's Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu , were present in a show of coalition solidarity. The dais also reflected a rare cross-party moment: Opposition leader and former CM Pinarayi Vijayan, CPM State Secretary MV Govindan, former Speaker AN Shamseer, CPI State Secretary Binoy Viswam, and BJP State President Rajeev Chandrasekhar were all seated onstage. Tamil Nadu CM Thalapathy Vijay, whose attendance had been widely anticipated, did not attend .

The viral moment of the day came immediately after Satheesan completed his oath, a warm, spontaneous embrace with Rahul Gandhi, captured in photographs that spread rapidly across social media, distilling in a single frame the personal and political bond between the new CM and the man who campaigned hard for this victory.

The 20-member Cabinet includes 14 first-time ministers, two women, and two representatives from the Scheduled Caste community, reflecting a conscious effort at social and regional balance. Senior leaders Ramesh Chennithala, who assumes the Home and Vigilance portfolios, K. Muraleedharan, KPCC chief Sunny Joseph, and IUML leaders PK Kunhalikutty, PK Basheer, and others were among those sworn in alongside the CM.

The new government wasted no time. In its very first Cabinet meeting, convened to implement what the CM called the " Indira Guarantees " promised by the UDF during the campaign, Satheesan announced a sweeping set of welfare measures. Free KSRTC bus travel for women will come into effect from June 15 , aimed at easing the financial burden on working women, students, and daily commuters across the state. The Cabinet also approved the creation of a dedicated Department for the Elderly , making Keralam the first state in India to have such a ministry. " The true measure of a civilised society is how it respects and cares for its old people ," Satheesan said, adding that the department will coordinate healthcare, social security, and rehabilitation for senior citizens under a unified framework.

On worker welfare, the Cabinet announced a ₹3,000 monthly hike in the honorarium for ASHA workers, with a decision on their retirement benefits to follow within a month. Anganwadi workers and helpers, school cooks, pre-primary teachers, and ayahs will each receive a ₹1,000 monthly increase. In a significant law-and-order signal, the Cabinet also constituted a Special Investigation Team to probe the alleged assault of Youth Congress-KSU workers by former CM Pinarayi Vijayan's security personnel during a protest in Alappuzha in November 2024.

The KSRTC announcement is not just a welfare measure, it is Congress's political signature. The party has now made free bus travel for women a guarantee it delivers in every state it wins . Karnataka introduced its Shakti programme in June 2023, and Telangana followed under the Maha Lakshmi scheme in December 2023. Keralam now joins that list, cementing what has become the Congress playbook for day-one governance.

CM Satheesan announced that the first session of the 16th Keralam Legislative Assembly will commence on May 21 , with the Speaker election, for which Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan has been named, scheduled for May 22. Senior MLA G. Sudhakaran has been appointed Pro-tem Speaker. Rajeev Babu has been named the new Advocate General, and T. Asaf Ali as Director General of Prosecution.