TRIVANDRUM, 18 May— Sixty-year-old Congress Party leader A.K. Antony, one of India’s most respected politicians, was yesterday sworn-in as Kerala’s 16th chief minister. Along with Antony, seven other members of the United Democratic Front (UDF), which won a landslide victory in the May 10 Assembly elections, took the oath of office at Governor S. S. Kang’s residence.

They were Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) leader P. K. Kunjalikutty, Kerala Congress (M) leader K. M. Mani, Janadhipathya Samrakshana Samiti (JSS) leader K. R. Gowriamma, Kerala Congress (J) leader T. M. Jacob, RSB (B) leader Babu Divakaran and Communist Marxist Party (CMP) leader M. V. Raghavan.

The surprise inclusion in the Cabinet was 34-year-old Malayalam film star K. B. Ganesh Kumar of the Kerala Congress (B) party. He came in place of his father R. Balakrishna Pillai, who dropped out at the last moment because of his involvement in a corruption case for which he was jailed for a week in March.

About 20,000 people thronged the venue during the function. On the way, the crowds brought traffic to a complete halt in many places. The dignitaries who attended the ceremony included Karnataka Chief Minister S. M. Krishna, Congress Party leaders K. Karunakaran, Ghulam Nabi Azad and Motilal Vora and IUML leaders G. M. Banatwala and E. Ahmed.

The opposition was represented by legislators Thomas Issac, M. V. Jayarajan and K. P. Rajendaran, former state finance minister T. Sivadasa Menon, former speaker of the Kerala Assembly M. Vijayakumar and Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) leader M. A. Baby.

The biggest applause was reserved for former CPI-M leader Raghavan, followed by Ganesh, when their names were called out. Except for Ganesh and Divakaran, the other five have been ministers in the previous Cabinets headed by Karunakaran and Antony. Divakaran is the son of the late T. K. Divakaran, a former minister. This is the third time Antony has become the Kerala chief minister. He held the office earlier in 1977 and 1995. On both the occasions, Karunakaran replaced him.

According to reports, the state Cabinet is likely to be expanded to 19 members over the next few days. It is expected that more representation will be given to the Congress Party, IUML and the Kerala Congress (M).

Antony yesterday set a strict fiscal discipline as the first priority of his government. Talking to reporters after assuming office, he said the ministers had been directed not to spend money for renovations of their official bungalows as a gesture. “The fiscal discipline would start from the level of ministers. There would be no more ACs, new furniture, luxury cars and other costly items. The two Mercedes Benz cars used by the previous ministers would be handed over to the Tourism Department. I would be using an Ambassador car,” he added.

He said the law would take its own course as far as the corruption allegations against the former LDF ministers are concerned. “But we won’t use it as a tool to wage a vendetta against the political opponents,” he added.

Antony, inheriting an empty government coffer, says the only way out for the state is to aggressively woo private capital.

Antony knows that with a public debt of close to 300 billion rupees and an unemployed force of 4.5 million, he has a tough task on hand. The state’s agrarian economy is reeling under its worst price drop. And despite a decade of liberalization, Kerala has received barely one percent of the foreign direct investment (FDI) coming into the country.

Aware of the negative image of Kerala that industrialists have, Antony has made it clear that one of the ways of reviving the economy is to invite foreign direct investment and private capital into the state.

“They (industrialists) are not allergic to us unlike the CPI-M (Communist Party of India-Marxist) who never had an open policy regarding this.” The chief minister is also determined to put the state on the information technology map, besides promoting tourism for which Kerala is well known.

Antony’s claim that the state suffered from poor financial management during the five years of Left Democratic Front rule received a boost when former Planning Board Vice Chairman I. S. Gulati blamed the former government for the mounting governmental debt.

Antony has announced that his government would have a minister exclusively for information technology.

Economic issues apart, Antony may also have to cope with the pulls and pressures of running an eight-party coalition. His performance is likely to be watched closely by members of his own Congress Party, especially those who support his long-time rival and former Chief Minister K. Karunakaran.