By 6 am on May 18, people had begun arriving at the Central Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram, where the swearing-in of the United Democratic Front (UDF) Ministry was scheduled for 10 am. Within two hours, the stadium was filled to capacity, with 15,000 supporters of the parties that make up the Front.
The scene was unusual for Kerala, where people participate enthusiastically in political gatherings but not typically in ceremonial events such as swearing-ins, which are brief affairs with little scope for speeches outlining a political roadmap. True, there were none of the songs, dances, or musical performances associated with such occasions in neighbouring Tamil Nadu. Keralites sat watching quietly, breaking into cheers whenever a familiar leader paused to exchange a few words with supporters before returning to the stage.
The inauguration presented the right optics: the presence of Chief Ministers of most Congress-ruled States, along with the senior leadership of the party. This included virtually everyone who matters in the All India Congress Committee—party president Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi, Chief Ministers Revanth Reddy and Sukhvinder Sukku, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D. K. Shivakumar, and AICC general secretary (organisation), K. C. Venugopal.
This was not all. Unusually, on stage, the former Chief Minister and present Leader of the Opposition in the Kerala Assembly, Pinarayi Vijayan. This is new, even in Kerala, where political niceties go beyond rigid party lines. The election was bitterly fought, with leaders trading personal charges and countercharges. That seemed to be over. Other political leaders were also in attendance, including Rajeev Chandrasekhar, the BJP’s State president. The only notable absentees were Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay.
It was an understated show with the strong but invisible imprint of Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan. “As much as possible, I invited all the leaders personally. Some others, I could only speak over the phone,” Satheesan told the media afterwards. It reflects Satheesan’s attention to detail: nothing is too small or insignificant for him.
After a decade in the Opposition, the Congress is determined to make a perfect start and create some noise about the fact that it is back at the helm. The occasion also served as a much-needed moment of celebration for the party after its losses in Assam and Bengal.
In the crowd was an old lady from Paravur, Satheesan’s constituency, Seethalakshmi Ammal, who held up a picture of herself posing with Satheesan. She had made the nearly 55 km journey to participate in the ceremony. When Satheesan’s team noticed her, they invited her on stage. As Seethalakshmi hugged Satheesan, he was seen telling an amused Rahul Gandhi his connection with the old woman.
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The story goes back to the 2018 floods, when Seethalakshmi lost everything she had, including her shanty. Satheesan, among the first responders, told her that “as long as you are alive, you shouldn’t worry about anything–food or clothing or shelter”. On the day of the swearing-in, when a cable television reporter asked if Satheesan was like her son, she replied, “No. He is my son.”
This incident gives a peek into who Satheesan, the politician, is. He understands that all that matters is the people in his constituency. For him, they are people first and voters next. After his initial defeat in Paravur in 1996, Satheesan won the same seat six times in a row–2001, 2006, 2011, 2016, 2021, and 2026. “There is a kind of calmness in me when I reach Paravur,” he told the media. “I want to get back as often as I can.”
The optics of the day did not end there. Satheesan did something simple yet powerful soon after taking charge. Given Kerala’s depleted coffers, he declared a halt on all wasteful expenditure. “This is a government based on austerity. We can use the same old car. We are not going to order new cars,” he announced. He was irritated a few news channels claimed that Satheesan would not ride any car that is black in colour. “What is this? Why can’t I travel in a black car,” he asked.
But the real Insta moment came when a young model named Figin, who is from Nilambur and crazy about modified motorbikes and cars, asked a question: “Will you allow modification of vehicles?” Satheesan has gone on record supporting modified vehicles if they pose no danger to other road users, and also how modified automobiles were used for rescue work during the 2018 floods. As he spoke with Figin, Satheesan half-smiled and made an impish facial expression. Those 10 seconds broke Instagram, with users posting thousands of memes and shorts. In Gen Z lingo, Satheesan had become a “pookie” (cute person).
Connecting with youth
Satheesan’s connection with the next generation is clearly good. He once explained why he was able to reach out to new and emerging audiences. “I read. I read across generations [of authors]. I have to read because if I don’t, I will not even realise the generation gap,” he said.
Satheesan has spoken of an incident in 2025 when he was at a college union inauguration, which is among the biggest events in the calendar of a Kerala college—students fight the elections on party lines and use hectic campaigns and debates. Satheesan noticed that the students were not engaging with anything being said on stage, and so he started his speech with Gen Z lingo: “Look at the vibe here today,” he said. The audience instantly sat up.
Connecting across age groups is a challenge for today’s politicians and Satheesan apperas to be acing it so far. But governance is a completely different ball game. The six-time MLA has never been a Minister. The only position of prominence he has held is that of Leader of the Opposition in the last Assembly. Ironically, he got that post because K.C. Venugopal, an aspirant for Chief Ministership, thought he wasn’t a threat to his own ambitions, a move Venugopal might be ruing now.
Satheesan also made a move guided by compassion for aspirants of government jobs. “We will recommend to the PSC [Public Service Commission] that the validity of all #PSC rank lists expiring on August 31, 2026—which were affected by the election process—be extended till November 30, 2026,” he announced on X, throwing a lifeline to hundreds of aspirants who have written the examination and are awaiting postings.
Another move relied on common sense: the Left Democratic Front government had proposed an unpopular 530-km fast-track rail corridor from the northern-most district capital town of Kasargod to the capital city in the south, Thiruvananthapuram. Almost 3,000 acres of land were identified for the SilverLine K railway. The Congress had opposed the project from the beginning because of displacement concerns, and was part of the protests.
Three days after taking office, Satheesan cancelled the project. “People who owned lands in the areas notified for the project were aghast that they were not able to sell, buy or even pledge their property for loans. The cases registered because of the Silverline protests will be examined closely by the Home department, and where possible, the cases will be recommended to be withdrawn. We can only recommend since the cases are in court.”
Other popular and much-needed moves are Satheesan’s decision to hike the salary of ASHA workers to Rs. 3,000 per month and extend free travel in government buses for women. “Honorarium hikes for Anganwadi workers, cooking workers, pre-primary teachers and ayahs have also been approved. Free KSRTC travel for women will come into effect from June 15. Delivering on our promises from day one,” Satheesan declared on X.
While these are low-hanging fruit, on the substantive issue of finding finances for the projects that the new government wants to carry forward, Satheesan has adopted a tactic of buying time. He and many Congress leaders have often complained that the LDF government had left the treasury empty.
As in most other States where there is a change in government, the UDF government too has constituted a committee to prepare a White Paper on finances. “Former Cabinet Secretary Dr. K.M. Chandrasekhar will serve as Chairman, while Finance Department Additional Chief Secretary K.R. Jyothilal will be the Convener. Economist Dr. Narayanan and CDS Director Dr. Veeramani are the other members of the committee,” said Satheesan.
Satheesan’s first few days have been steady, with the Congress ensuring both caste and regional balance in the Ministry. Four districts have gone unrepresented–Kasargod, Kozhikkode, Pathanamthitta and Idukki–and it is expected that when a reshuffle takes place, the Chief Minister will accommodate candidates from these districts.
Satheesan has detractors both within and outside the party. Internally, the Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala, once his mentor, is expected to look for opportunities to catch Satheesan on the wrong foot. Chennithala was among the three in the race for the CM’s chair. Chennithala, who has won a record sixth time from Harippad, was No. 2 in the 2011 Oomen Chandy Ministry too, being Home Minister from 2014 to 2016. In fact, in what could be considered rather improper, Chennithala had announced his Ministry even before the swearing in.
The party’s Kerala president Sunny Joseph, Minister for Electricity and Environment, belongs to the Venugopal camp, but will need Satheesan in his corner. Not only does Joseph face the Electricity department’s famously antagonistic trade unions, he will also have to resign as PCC president now that he is a Minister. Joseph, who made headlines because he defeated the mighty former Minister and CPI (M) leader Shailaja Teacher in Peravoor, will be walking a tight rope.
Former four-time Chief Minister K. Karunakaran’s son, K. Muraleedharan, has been allotted the Health Ministry. He had famously claimed that the COVID virus could not survive in 30 degree C temperature. Satheesan might be worried about any more embarrassing statements from him.
Satheesan also has to contend with allies, especially the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), which publicly supported his candidature. The Chief Minister will have to use all his experience to manage the five Ministers belonging to the IUML, the senior-most of whom is P.K. Kunhalikutty, a five-time Minister. The BJP has been painting Satheesan as an IUML pick.
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Satheesan will have no honeymoon period. The long drawn 10-day tussle for Chief Ministership played out in the open, with cable news channels playing up each development. The Congress attracted sharp criticism for its indecisiveness. A lot of the party’s goodwill was burnt up in those days. Going by the first few days in office, Sathessan appears well poised to handle most political challenges thrown at him. He has another plus. A disarming quality—the kind many find in Rahul Gandhi—that will endear him to the people of Kerala.
In 2023, he was asked at the Malabar Literature Festival: “What’s the one question you want to be asked which journalists have not asked you so far?” Satheesan thought for a moment and said: “I want someone to ask me ‘Are you a good human being?’”
“Are you?,” the organiser asked.
“I am trying to be… no one is perfect. But as people point out our shortcomings, our mistakes etc, we can correct them slowly. Our whole life is an attempt to become a better human being,” he said.
This honest answer and that ‘pookie’ moment make up Satheesan’s public persona. It will be his greatest asset as he negotiates both the minefield inside Congress and the administrative pitfalls that lie ahead.
