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Pinarayi Vijayan Takes Over As The New Kerala Chief Minister

Pinarayi Vijayan Takes Over As The New Kerala Chief Minister
ANI/Twitter

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM -- CPI(M) strongman Pinarayi Vijayan was today sworn in as Chief Minister of Kerala heading a 19-member ministry of the party-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) that had 13 new faces including two women.

72-year-old Vijayan, who pipped his bitter party rival VS Achuthanandan to the top post in Kerala politics, was administered the oath of office and secrecy by Governor Justice (Retd) P Sathasivam at the Central Stadium here.

Hailing from a poor toddy tapper's family, Vijayan, a first time Chief Minister, took the oath in Malayalam. A CPI-M Politburo member, he is the 12th chief minister of Kerala.

Out of the 19-member cabinet, 12 including the Chief Minister are from CPI(M), 4 from CPI, one each from NCP, Janata Dal(S) and Congress(S). The outgoing Congress-led UDF had 21 ministers.

There are 13 new faces, including two women, in the Cabinet. Five ministers had held positions in previous LDF ministries.

The CPI(M)-LDF had unseated the Congress-led UDF by securing 91 seats in the 140-member House in the May 16 assembly polls.

A huge pandal to accommodate at least 30,000 persons was put up at the stadium, adjacent to the state Secretariat. CCTVs erected at various places enabled the large crowd, who had gathered to view the ceremony streamed live.

The slight drizzle failed to dampen the spirits of the party workers who had arrived in buses and other vehicles from various parts of the state, especially the northern districts of Kasaragod, Kannur and Kozhikode, to witness the swearing-in ceremony, which began at 4 pm.

Here is a list of ministers who were sworn in at the ceremony:

  • E Chandrasekharan: Revenue Minister
  • Mathew T Thomas: Water Resources Minister
  • AK Saseendran: Transport Minister.
  • Kadannappalli Ramachandran: Ports Minister
  • AK Balan: Law, Culture and SC/ST Minister
  • KT Jaleel: Minister for Local Self Government
  • EP Jayarajan: Sports and Industry Minister
  • Mercykutty Amma: Fisheries Minister
  • Kadakampalli Surendran: Minister for Electricity and Devaswoms

In 2006 also, the swearing in of then Chief Minister VS Achutanandan and his cabinet colleague was held outside the Raj Bhavan.

Former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda, former Chief Ministers Oommen Chandy, VS Achutanandan, CPI(M) General Secretary Seetharam Yechury, Prakash Karat, 97-year-old K R Gowri Amma, who was Revenue minister in the EMS Namboodiripad cabinet of 1957, former union minister and lone member of BJP in the assembly O Rajagopal, religious and cultural leaders and film actors attended the function.

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.