Full list of Kerala Cabinet Ministers by May 17, says Satheesan

Subscribed with another email? Logout and Login with that one. Account subscription benefits alongside Premium Stories, Editorials, Opinions and more. Unlock these with Subscription The View From India Looking at World Affairs from the Indian perspective. First Day First Show News and reviews from the world of cinema and streaming. Today's Cache Your download of the top 5 technology stories of the day. Science For All The weekly newsletter from science writers takes the jargon out of science and puts the fun in! Data Point Decoding the headlines with facts, figures, and numbers THEdge At the cutting edge of education and careers Health Matters Ramya Kannan writes to you on getting to good health, and staying there Gender Agenda Stories from beyond the binary. The Hindu On Books Books of the week, reviews, excerpts, new titles and features. Updated - May 16, 2026 10:45 pm IST - THIRUVANANTHAPURAM Chief Minister-designate V. D. Satheesan with Senior Congress leader and MLA Ramesh Chennithala after a meeting held at the latter's residence, in Thiruvananthapuram. Photo credit: Special arrangement Amid intense speculation over Cabinet formation and portfolio allocation in Kerala’s new United Democratic Front (UDF) government, Chief Minister-designate V.D. Satheesan indicated on Saturday (May 16, 2026) that the full list of Ministers will be handed over to Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar by Sunday (May 17, 2026) evening. Mr. Satheesan, who was busy holding talks with senior Congress leaders and other UDF partners on Saturday (May 16, 2026), said the full Council of Ministers would take the oath of office at 10 a.m. on Monday (May 18, 2026) at the Central Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram. The State capital witnessed hectic parleys and negotiations through the day, as the Congress-led UDF steered discussions to finalise the Ministerial berths ahead of Monday’s (May 18, 2026) swearing-in ceremony. Rumours suggest that the Chief Minister is considering holding on to the Finance portfolio himself. Speculation is rife that senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala, who was reportedly disgruntled over being bypassed for the Chief Minister’s post, will join the Cabinet as Home Minister. Mr. Satheesan and AICC general secretary K.C. Venugopal, who had also been an aspirant for the CM’s post, both met Mr. Chennithala for conciliatory talks. Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Mr. Chennithala restricted his comments to one sentence: “I’m always a true Congressman.” Reports suggested that Mr. Chennithala had also demanded Ministerial berths for Anwar Sadath and T.J. Vinod. After his meeting with Mr. Venugopal, Mr. Satheesan said decisions in the Congress and the UDF are made democratically and in consultation with everyone. Other names from the Congress that were doing the rounds on Saturday (May 16, 2026) included KPCC president Sunny Joseph, K. Muraleedharan, P.C. Vishnunadh, Chandy Oommen, M. Liju, and Bindu Krishna. The Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) is reportedly bidding for five ministerial berths, the same number the party held in the last UDF government headed by Oommen Chandy from 2011 to 2016. Mr. Satheesan held discussions with senior IUML leaders, after which IUML general secretary P.K. Kunhalikutty said the UDF could disclose its decisions only after discussions with all the front partners are completed. ALSO WATCH Five facts about Kerala’s new CM VD Satheesan The IUML’s parliamentary party meet is scheduled for Sunday (May 17, 2026) morning in Thiruvananthapuram, after which there will be more clarity on the IUML ministers. Names being suggested include Mr. Kunhalikutty and N. Shamsudeen. Another UDF member, the Kerala Congress (Joseph), is understood to be demanding two seats in the Cabinet, while the Communist Marxist Party’s C.P. John is also reportedly being discussed as a possible contender. Copyright© 2026, THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD. or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. Terms & conditions | Institutional Subscriber Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments. We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.

Full list of Kerala Cabinet Ministers by May 17, says Satheesan

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Full list of Kerala Cabinet Ministers by May 17, says Satheesan

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