Union Cabinet clears proposal ahead of Assembly polls
February 24, 2026: The Union Cabinet of India on Tuesday approved a proposal to officially rename Kerala as ‘Keralam’, marking a key administrative development ahead of the state Assembly elections due later this year. Announcing the decision, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the demand to adopt ‘Keralam’ has existed since the state’s formation on linguistic lines. The decision was taken at the first Cabinet meeting held at the new Prime Minister’s Office complex, Seva Teerth, clearing the way for the formal change after repeated resolutions by the Kerala Legislative Assembly.
The Assembly had unanimously passed a resolution on June 24, 2024, urging the Centre to effect the name change. This followed an earlier resolution adopted in August 2023, which was returned after the Union Home Ministry suggested technical modifications. After incorporating those changes, the Assembly reiterated its request, paving the way for the Cabinet’s nod.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has maintained that ‘Keralam’ better reflects Malayalam pronunciation and the state’s cultural identity, urging that the name be updated across all languages listed in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution. The move also carries political significance, with state BJP president Rajeev Chandrasekhar having earlier written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi supporting the change. With Cabinet approval in place, the formal constitutional process to implement the renaming is now set to move ahead.