Thiruvananthapuram, May 18: Amid a thunderous applause at the packed Central Stadium on Monday, senior Keralam Congress leader V.D. Satheesan took the oath as Chief Minister of Kerala more than 2 weeks after the party came back to power with the help of a few small coalition partners.
Kerala Governor Rajendra Arlekar administered him the oath of office and secrecy at the ceremony attended by Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge and Priyanka Gandhi and the outgoing Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, State BJP president and newly elected MLA Rajeev Chandrasekhar.
Congress Chief Ministers from Karnataka, Telangana and Himachal Pradesh were present in the ceremony.
Satheesan, who turns 62 on Sunday, took the oath in the name of God as thousands watched from inside and outside the overflowing venue.
Along with Satheesan, 20 of his cabinet colleagues also took the oath of office and secrecy.
Veteran IUML leader P.K. Kunhalikutty was the second to take the oath, followed by senior Congress leaders Ramesh Chennithala and Sunny Joseph.
