Hyderabad, May 18: Senior Congress leader V D Satheesan on Monday took oath as the 13th Chief Minister of Kerala as the Congress-led UDF returned to power after a decade.
The swearing-in ceremony was held at the Central Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram in the presence of top national and State leaders.
A massive crowd gathered at the venue and celebrations erupted as Governor Rajendra Arlekar announced Satheesan’s name for the oath-taking ceremony.
Satheesan took oath in the name of God amid loud cheers from Congress workers and UDF supporters.The Congress-led United Democratic Front regained power in Kerala after remaining out of office for 10 years. The last UDF government in the State was headed by late former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy in 2011.
Several prominent leaders attended the ceremony, including Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge.
Outgoing Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, BJP leader Rajeev Chandrasekhar and senior leaders from different political parties also attended the event.
Chief Ministers from Congress-ruled Telangana, Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh were present at the ceremony, highlighting the political importance of the Kerala victory for the Congress party.
Senior IUML leader P K Kunhalikutty was among the first ministers to take oath, followed by Congress leaders Ramesh Chennithala and Sunny Joseph.
The new 21-member Cabinet includes 12 ministers from Congress, five from IUML and representatives from Kerala Congress, Kerala Congress Jacob, CMP and RSP.
Fourteen ministers took oath for the first time, giving the new government a fresh look.
After the swearing-in ceremony, the newly formed Cabinet held its first meeting at the Secretariat to discuss key decisions, including implementation of the election guarantees announced during the campaign.
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