The Congress-led UDF on Sunday finalised the list of ministers for the new Kerala cabinet after two days of discussions, with Chief Minister-designate V D Satheesan reaching Lok Bhavan to submit the names to Kerala Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar.
Earlier in the day, Satheesan said the new ministry, comprising 20 ministers and the chief minister, would be sworn in on Monday. He later announced his ministerial team ahead of the swearing-in ceremony and said the list had been finalised after discussions among alliance leaders, taking into account social and regional balance within the coalition.
He said senior leaders Ramesh Chennithala, K Muraleedharan and Sunny Joseph would be inducted as ministers.
The UDF also decided to appoint senior legislator Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan as Speaker of the Assembly, while Shanimol Usman will serve as Deputy Speaker.
The other announced ministers include PK Kunhalikutty, Mons Joseph, Shibu Baby John, Anoop Jacob, C P John, A P Anil Kumar, N Samsudheen, P C Vishnunath, Roji M John, Bindu Krishna, M Liju, K M Shaji, P K Basheer, V E Abdul Gafoor, T Siddique, K A Thulasi, O J Janeesh, as per a report by Manorama.
Meanwhile, the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), a key ally of the Congress in the UDF, announced its list of ministers for the new cabinet headed by Satheesan.
Party supremo Panakkad Sadik Ali Shihab Thangal said five leaders had been chosen to take up ministerial responsibilities in the new government. The names announced were P K Kunhalikutty, N Shamsuddin, K M Shaji, P K Basheer and V E Abdul Gafoor.
The announcement was made by Thangal at a press conference. He said the decision had been taken after internal discussions and in accordance with the coalition's power-sharing agreement.
The cabinet formation comes days after the Indian National Congress high command ended speculation over leadership in Kerala by naming Satheesan as the leader of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) and the next chief minister on May 14.
The Congress-led UDF secured a more-than-two-thirds majority in the Kerala Assembly elections, but the party was unable to decide on its chief ministerial candidate amid lobbying by different camps and protests by workers at the grassroots level.
Discussions on the cabinet began on Friday and continued through multiple rounds of meetings between Congress leaders and alliance partners before the list was finalised on Sunday evening.
"There are many deserving leaders both within and outside the list. But a party like the Congress has to consider social balance, regional representation and several other factors while taking such decisions," Satheesan said.
He added that discussions on the allocation of portfolios among coalition partners were almost complete, with only minor corrections remaining. The final list would be formally submitted to the governor and later notified through an official gazette following approval.
The UDF leadership had held multiple rounds of discussions over the past two days to finalise ministerial berths and balance representation among coalition partners and regions before submitting the final list to the governor.
At around 5 pm, Satheesan left Cantonment House with the list to meet the governor. He reached Lok Bhavan at around 5.15 pm and held discussions with Arlekar.
The list of ministers is expected to be announced after his return.
The swearing-in ceremony will be held at 10 am at the Central Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram on May 18.
(With inputs from PTI)