Pinarayi Vijayan and 18 others take oath as new Kerala CM and Ministers.

CPM 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.The CPM or Communist Party of India-Marxist will have 12 ministers, the Communist Party of India or CPI will have four and three other LDF constituents - the Janata Dal-S, the Nationalist Congress Party and the Congress-S - will have one each. Last week, the LDF wrested Kerala back from the Oomen Chandy-led Congress. "This will be a people's government and will function for the welfare of the people. There will be no caste, religious and political barriers and we will function with that spirit," Mr Vijayan has promised. Among the pledges his newspaper ads this morning are safety for women and minorities, welfare of students and the elderly and a promise of new jobs and control of inflation. The son of a toddy tapper, Mr Vijayan was picked to be chief minister over Mr Achuthanandan, the CPM's star campaigner.

Pinarayi Vijayan will take oath today as chief minister and is "committed to turn Kerala into a truly God's own country." Pinarayi Vijayan served for 17 years as the CPM's Kerala state secretary, the longest tenure ever. He has been elected to the state assembly five times and won this year's election from Dharmadam constituency by a margin of 36,000 votes. The Cabinet of the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government comprises 19 members. Governor P. Sathasivam administered the oath of office and secrecy to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and 18 members of his Cabinet at the Central Stadium here.

Live updates: 04.47 p.m.: The swearing-in ceremony, a 48-minute affair, comes to a close. The Ministers will now attend their first Cabinet meeting.

04.44 p.m.: T.M. Thomas Isaac takes oath as Finance Minister. The former Economics professor from Alappuzha was Finanace Minister in the previous LDF government too. He has been credited with spearheading the People's Plan Campaign. 04.42 p.m.: P. Tilothaman will be the Public Distribution and Civil Supplies Minister. He is the third Minister from Alappuzha district. 04.39 p.m.: V.S. Sunil Kumar takes oath as Agriculture Minister. 04.38 p.m.: CPI(M) State committee member G. Sudhakaran will handle Public Works and Registration portfolios. The first president of the SFI in Kerala, he was earlier a part of Mr. Achutanandan's Cabinet too. 04.35 p.m.: K.K. Shylaja takes oath as Health and Social Welfare Minister. 04.33 p.m.: C. Ravindranath takes oath as Education Minister. 04.29 p.m.: T.P. Ramakrishnan takes oath as the Minister for Excise and Labour. Formerly the Kozhikode district secretary of the CPI(M), he won from Perambra. He is a member of the State secretariat of the party. 04.28 p.m.: K. Raju of the CPI, who won from Punalur, takes oath. He will handle the Forest, Wildlife and Environment portfolio.

04.25 p.m.: A.C. Moideen takes oath as Tourism and Cooperation Minister. The Kunnamkulam MLA had had a stint as CPI(M) Thrissur District Secretary. 04.23 p.m.: Mercykutty Amma, who won from Kundara, and one of the only two women in the Cabinet, takes the oath as the Fisheries Minister. She is also the CITU national president. 04.22 p.m.: The Minister for Electricity and Devaswoms is Kadakampalli Surendran. He won from Kazhakoottam and it is his second term as MLA. 04.18 p.m.: E.P. Jayarajan of the CPI(M) takes oath as Sports and Industry Minister. A three-time MLA and a first-time Minister, he is a CPI(M) central committee member. 04.16 p.m.: K.T. Jaleel takes oath as Minister for Local Self Government. At 48 years, he is the youngest Minister in the Cabinet. He was earlier the general secretary of the Muslim Youth League. He won as an LDF-backed independent. 04.15 p.m.: A.K. Balan of the CPI(M) takes oath. He was Minister for Power in the V.S. Achuthanandan government. The MLA from Tharoor will now handle the Law, Culture and SC/ST Affairs. 04.11 p.m.: Kadannappalli Ramachandran takes oath as Ports Minister. 04.08 p.m.: Actor Mammootty is in attendance at the ceremony. 04.07 p.m.: A.K. Saseendran of the NCP takes oath as Transport Minister. A five-time MLA, he won from Elathoor. 04.05 p.m.: Mathew T. Thomas of the JD(S) takes oath as Water Resources Minister. He won from Thiruvalla. He was the Transport Minister in the previous LDF government before resigning over differences with the LDF leadership. He takes the oath in the name of God, a rarity in LDF ceremonies. 04.03 p.m.: E Chandrasekharan of the CPI takes the oath as Revenue Minister. The CPI's State treasurer won from Kanhangad. He is a first-time Minister. 04.02 p.m.: CPI(M) Leaders V.S. Achutanandan, Sitaram Yechury and Prakash Karat are present at the swearing-in ceremony at the Central Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram. 04.01 p.m.: Pinarayi Vijayan takes oath as Chief Minister. 4 p.m.: Governor P. Sathasivam arrives for the swearing-in ceremony.