The war of words between Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan and Leader of the Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan over the appointment of personal staff escalated on Friday, with Mr. Satheesan posting on Facebook that he stood by his claim that the previous Left Democratic Front (LDF) government had appointed 787 people to the personal staff of the Chief Minister and Ministers.

At a press conference after the Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, Mr. Satheesan had claimed that the present United Democratic Front (UDF) government has kept a tight lid on appointments, hiring only 476 personal staff members. He had pointed out that, by contrast, the previous Pinarayi Vijayan government had appointed 787 personal staff members. He also said that his Ministers have been restricted to a maximum of 25 staff members each, whereas some Ministers in the previous LDF Cabinet had maintained 27 to 29 members.

Mr. Vijayan promptly refuted this figure. He said the members of the personal staff numbered less than 500 during the last government and challenged Mr. Satheesan to publish the list.

Mr. Satheesan maintained in his Facebook post that he was willing to publish the entire list of the personal staff of the Chief Minister and Ministers during the 2021-2026 period, including their addresses and other details.

Mr. Satheesan also raised the issue of a separate 12-member team created during the previous government specifically to manage Mr. Vijayan’s website and social media platforms. The team was appointed on a pay structure ranging from ₹75,000 to ₹22,290. In 2025, the government issued an order enhancing their salary.

Thus, Pinarayi Vijayan’s government was one which spent over ₹7 lakh a month and over ₹84 lakh annually just for social media management, the Chief Minister said. Yet, the Opposition now has no qualms about casting aspersions on the UDF government over the number of personal staff.

This government has not appointed personal staff above the permitted limit, Mr. Satheesan clarified in the post.