The Tenth Kerala Legislative Assembly Council of Ministers, third E. K. Nayanar ministry, was a Kerala Council of Ministers (Kerala Cabinet), the executive wing of Kerala state government, led by CPI (M) leader E. K. Nayanar from May 1996 to May 2001.

He did not contest in the 1996 Legislative elections, and V. S. Achuthanandan, another senior Communist leader, was designated as the Chief Minister candidate.

When the election results came, the Left Democratic Front won the majority of seats, but Achuthanandan lost.

In this special situation, a meeting was held by the CPI (M), which unanimously supported Nayanar as the Chief Minister.

When Nayanar left the office after completing his term in May 2001, he had become the longest served Chief Minister of Kerala, serving for 4009 days in total.