The wind switched directions in Thiruvananthapuram on a Monday afternoon. There was a full crowd at Central Stadium. Sweaty. Loud. The 10 years of the Left Democratic Front government officially came to an end as V.D. Satheesan was sworn in as the new Chief Minister of the State. The Oath was administered by the Governor, Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar. The roar of the crowd was heard long before the microphone was turned on in the huge building.
This was no ordinary swearing-in. In the 2026 Assembly elections, the United Democratic Front won a huge victory. They won 102 out of 140 seats. Congress went on to collect 63 of them. The Indian Union Muslim League took home 22. The ten-year Left Front government reduced its seat count to 35.
They had a lot of people at a party. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge was sitting in the front row. Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra arrived in. Other State’s chief ministers attended to mark the territory. There were Revanth Reddy (TS), Siddaramaiah (Karnataka) and Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu (HP). Even the Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and BJP leader Rajeev Chandrasekhar were present. After taking the oath, Satheesan strolled across the stage to welcome his political enemies and friends.
A Grassroots Strategist is emerging.A new type of Grassroots Strategist is emerging.
V.D. Satheesan is 61. He didn’t drop out of the sky into the chief minister’s chair. His political pedigree is steeped in student politics. He began his political career as an activist of Kerala Students Union and National Students’ Union of India in the 80s. By profession he’s a lawyer. For years he fought cases at the Kerala High Court and then latched on to the political grind.
Satheesan is well versed in the Paravur constituency. He just won his sixth straight term there. They suffered a terrible margin this time. He beat CPI’s E.T. Taison by 20,600 votes. He has been in the same position since 2001. He didn’t get discouraged after he lost one in 1996. It simply honed his street smarts.
It wasn’t a snap decision to choose him as the top job. It took the Congress top brass ten excruciating days to make the decision. It was up in the air after the election on May 4. Delhi was abuzz with activity in the corridors. Veterans such as K.C. Venugopal and Ramesh Chennithala were going strong in their bid for the top spot. Venugopal was initially the centre of the leadership of Word. However, the laborers rallied against this. Satheesan was supported by the IUML and the grassroots. They attributed him to making the opposition strong over the past five years. It was he that made the prediction in public of the UDF crossing 100 seats. He was right on target.
Immediately implementing Welfare Promises.
Satheesan started his work right away. The first cabinet meeting took place immediately following the ceremony. The new government didn’t delay in announcing its basic welfare programmes. The UDF fought a hard battle in the name of the UDF’s “Indira Guarantees”. From Day 1 they began to transform them into legal realities.
Women bus drivers in the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation have initiated “free travel,” on June 15. The State transport agency is a large entity. Its buses travel far into the countryside and into the busiest cities. This one policy change will radically change the life of millions of working women, students and daily wage earners in the coastal state.
Health frontline workers also received a pay increase. Under the previous government, ASHA workers staged noisy protests outside the state secretariat. Police barricades. Slogans in the hot sun: Satheesan had walked out there and he had pledged them relief. He has fulfilled his pledge today. There was a 3,000 rupee increase in their monthly salary. Now they will get 12,000 rupees a month. This is “only the beginning,” he said. Once the state’s budget is on track, more will come.
Anganwadi workers and helpers are getting a raise of 1,000 rupees. The same increase will be provided for pre-primary teachers, ayahs and school cooking staff. The amounts are relatively small. The government has no qualms about acknowledging that. However, the roll-out of the immediate is a speedy one.
It is a totally unique Department for Senior Citizens.
In Kerala, the rate of ageing is higher than in the rest of India. The juveniles migrate to the Gulf or to Europe. The old stay back. To meet this change in population, the cabinet took one very unusual step. They agreed to establish a completely new department for senior citizens.
Kerala is the first state in India to experiment with this, Satheesan said. He raised up Japan. Japan has an aging society and has already established certain administrative sections responsible for elderly care years ago. The Kerala government is considering sending teams to learn the Japanese model in the next two months. How a society treats its older people reflects its true status of civilization, the Chief Minister said, speaking to reporters.
Inspecting the White Paper with the Ledger
It is impossible to give money without knowing how much money is available in the state treasury. The UDF wants to know the exact state of the finances of Kerala, after spending 10 years in the Left rule.
The cabinet determined to issue a full-fledged white paper. They are not letting normal bureaucrats deal with it. A panel of financial professionals will delve into the figures. They will draw plans of debts, source of income, and empty coffers. The government would like the public to have a good look at the state of the nation’s finances when it was accepted.
Reopening Old Wounds on the Streets
Politics in Kerala has got its physical aspect. The previous government’s Nava Kerala Yatra in the city of Alappuzha got violent. The youth Congress and KSU activists protested against the large convoy of Pinarayi Vijayan by holding black flags. The gunmen reportedly of the former chief minister beat them up on the street. The video was posted all over the world.
The Left government dragged its feet on the case. The police only filed reports after a local court stepped in and forced their hand. The new UDF cabinet tore off the band-aid today. They ordered a fresh, aggressive probe. A Special Investigation Team will take over the case to find out exactly who ordered the beatings and who carried them out.
New Faces and Old Hands in the Cabinet
Satheesan’s new team has 20 ministers. It’s a sharp, careful mix of veterans and rookies. Fourteen of them are sitting in a minister’s chair for the very first time.
Ramesh Chennithala took his oath. So did P.K. Kunhalikutty from the Muslim League, a man who has been a fixture in every UDF cabinet since 1991. Oddly enough, the IUML ministers skipped wearing their traditional white caps during the swearing-in this time around. The cabinet also pulled in leaders from smaller allies like the Revolutionary Socialist Party and the Communist Marxist Party. C.P. John and Shibu Baby John represent the Left-leaning faction that sits within the UDF umbrella.
The state assembly will convene very soon. New MLAs will take their oaths on May 21. Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan is set to sit as the Speaker. Shanimol Usman takes the Deputy Speaker slot. On May 29, the Governor will read the policy address to lay out the full roadmap.
