Senior state Congress leader VD Satheesan was sworn in as the 13th chief minister of Kerala on Monday at a packed Central Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram, marking the return of the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) to power in the state after a decade.Kerala Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar with chief minister VD Satheesan and the Council of Ministers after the swearing-in ceremony in Thiruvananthapuram on Monday. (ANI)20 ministers, including 11 from the Congress and five from the alliance’s second-largest partner— the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), also took oath of office and secrecy along with the chief minister. One minister each from Kerala Congress (Joseph), Kerala Congress (Jacob), Communist Marxist Party (CMP) and Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) completed the 21-member cabinet.Governor Rajendra Arlekar administered the oaths of office and secrecy to Satheesan and his cabinet.Top Congress leaders— including Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge, Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah and deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar, Telangana chief minister A Revanth Reddy, Himachal Pradesh chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, were among those present.Former chief minister and CPI(M) Politburo member Pinarayi Vijayan, BJP state president and MLA-elect Rajeev Chandrasekhar, CPI(M) state secretary MV Govindan and CPI state secretary Binoy Viswam were among opposition leaders who graced the dais.The ministers who took oath from the Congress include Ramesh Chennithala, PC Vishnunadh, AP Anil Kumar, Roji M John, OJ Janeesh, Bindhu Krishna, KA Thulasi, T Siddique, K Muraleedharan, Sunny Joseph and M Liju. The ministers from the IUML were PK Kunhalikutty, PK Basheer, KM Shaji, N Shamsudheen and VE Abdul Gafoor. Those from other allies include Anoop Jacob, CP John, Shibu Baby John and Mons Joseph.All the ministers except Shibu Baby John and CP John took oaths in the name of God. The two leaders, whose parties belong to the Left spectrum of politics, made solemn affirmation of their commitment.The gazette with the details of the portfolios and departments assigned to the individual ministers was not published till late Monday evening. While Chennithala, who lost out to Satheesan in the CM race, is expected to keep the home and vigilance portfolios, the CM will handle finance, ports and law portfolios.Thousands of activists belonging to the Congress and parties like IUML and Kerala Congress had begun to throng the grounds of the Central Stadium, located right behind the Secretariat complex in Thiruvananthapuram, as early as 6 am. Many of them had taken overnight trains and buses from various parts of the state to attend the oath-taking ceremony. The state police came under extreme duress during the event to control the crowds and prevent them from entering the VIP and VVIP zones.In the recently-concluded Assembly elections in the state, the UDF won 102 of the 140 seats, it’s best ever result in nearly five decades. The LDF, which administered the state continuously since 2016, saw its tally drop from 99 to 35 seats. The BJP, which had no member in the outgoing Assembly, won three seats.