ARC OF A RAINBOW MINISTRY

Satheesan finds himself in an embattled zone at the outset, but he doubles down on 'Team UDF' with five IUML ministers

- By Jeemon Jacob

IF YOU FEEL VADASSERY DAMODARAMENON SATHEESAN is a mouthful, that’s exactly what four restaurants in Dubai offered to anyone carrying the operative part of that name. Yes, free meals were on offer for any expat Malayali who could prove he was called ‘Satheesan’. The ascension of Kerala’s new chief minister also saw celebrations in more hardscrabble quarters. ASHA volunteers, who had staged an epic 265-day sit-in outside the state secretariat against the Pinarayi Vijayan government in 2025, found their demand for higher wages granted on the first day. So did anganwadi workers. But as the new Congress CM set off the blocks with a welfarist spree, he may soon realise there is no such thing in politics as a free lunch.