Thiruvananthapuram | V D Satheesan on Monday took oath as Kerala's Chief Minister, with Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar administering the oath of office to the Congress Legislative Party leader here.

Satheesan took the oath in the name of God.

Besides Satheesan, members of his 20-member Cabinet are also taking oath at a grand function being held here.

The 20-member Cabinet includes senior Congress leaders Ramesh Chennithala, K Muraleedharan, A P Anil Kumar and KPCC chief Sunny Joseph. Senior IUML leader P K Kunhalikutty, RSP leader Shibu Baby John, Kerala Congress leader Mons Joseph, Kerala Congress (Jacob) leader Anoop Jacob, and CMP leader C P John also took oath.

There are 14 new faces in the Cabinet, including Chief Minister Satheesan, who is holding a government position for the first time despite being elected from Paravur since 2001.

The Cabinet includes two women and two members from the Scheduled Caste community.

CMP leader John and IUML leaders N Shamsuddin, K M Shaji, P K Basheer and V E Abdul Gafoor are also among the new faces in the Cabinet.

Congress leaders P C Vishnunadh, Roji M John, Bindu Krishna, T Siddique, K A Thulasi and O J Janeesh are also among the first-time ministers.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and senior party leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, among others, attended the swearing-in ceremony.

Chief Ministers of Congress-ruled states, former Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Left leaders, and BJP representatives also attended the ceremony.

As each Cabinet minister took oath, loud cheers rose from thousands of UDF workers and supporters present at the venue.

Thousands of Congress workers arrived in the state capital from across Kerala for the event.

The Assembly elections to the 140-member House were held on 9 April, with results declared on May 4. The Congress-led UDF won 102 seats, the LDF secured 35, and the BJP won three.