Satheesan’s Claim of 787 LDF Personal Staff Faces Questions

Web Desk

Published on Sep 13, 2026, 02:33 PM | 3 min read

Thiruvananthapuram: Chief Minister V D Satheesan continues to face questions over his claim that 787 people were appointed to the personal staff of ministers during the previous LDF government, without providing details to substantiate the figure. His earlier challenge to release the names has so far remained just that, while he continues to maintain that the number of personal staff members was 787.

The 2021 LDF ministry initially had 21 ministers. Subsequently, five ministers resigned at different stages, four new ministers joined the Cabinet, and one minister returned after resigning.

When M V Govindan resigned after being elected CPI(M) state secretary, M B Rajesh became minister and had 24 personal staff members. When Saji Cherian resigned, 22 of the 25 members of his staff were shifted to the offices of other ministers. When he returned to the Cabinet, all 25 members who had previously served in his office were brought back.

After K Radhakrishnan became an MP, 21 of the 23 members of his staff were transferred to the office of O R Kelu, who succeeded him as minister. When Antony Raju resigned after completing two and a half years in office, all 24 members of his personal staff ceased to hold their positions. K B Ganesh Kumar, who replaced him, appointed 24 staff members without changing the sanctioned strength.

When Ahamed Devarkovil resigned, all 25 members of his personal staff left office. Ramachandran Kadannappally, who replaced him, appointed 20 staff members.

The LDF had fixed the maximum number of personal staff for ministers, excluding the chief minister, at 25. Against this background, the figure of 787 cited by Satheesan does not appear to correspond with the staff strength maintained by the individual ministers.

The chief whip and V D Satheesan, who was then the Leader of the Opposition, also had 25 personal staff members each.

The record for the highest number of personal staff appointments was set by the Oommen Chandy government between 2011 and 2016, which appointed 623 personal staff members.

Personal Staff Strength of LDF Ministers

1. Pinarayi Vijayan – 32

2. K Rajan – 25

3. Roshy Augustine – 22

4. A K Saseendran – 25

5. K Krishnankutty – 25

6. M B Rajesh – 24

7. K N Balagopal – 25

8. P Rajeeve – 23

9. Saji Cherian – 25

10. P A Mohammed Riyas – 24

11. V N Vasavan – 24