THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala Congress (B) leader K B Ganesh Kumar and Congress (S) state president Kadannappalli Ramachandran will be inducted as ministers in the next reshuffle of the second Pinarayi Vijayan government.
The cabinet reshuffle is expected in the last week of December after the ‘Nava Kerala Sadas’ a programme of the state government scheduled from November 18 to December 24. The LDF state committee which met on Friday gave a green signal for the induction of the two new ministers.
Transport Minister Antony Raju and Ports Minister Ahammed Devarkovil will tender their resignations after the time of swearing- in of the new ministers is decided. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan announced the cabinet reshuffle at the LDF meeting held at AKG Centre.
He told the meeting that Ganesh Kumar of KCB and Kadannappally Ramachandran of Congress (S) will be sworn in as ministers after the ‘Nava Kerala Sadas’ programme. “The day after the end of the Nava Kerala Sadas is Christmas. So, we will consider a suitable date after the holiday,” CM reportedly said.
At the meeting, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (formerly LJD) leader Varghese George staked claim for a ministerial berth for his party’s MLA. The CM replied that the KCB had already given a representation to consider its entry into the cabinet.
Discussions with the RJD will be held later. It was decided in the LDF at the time of the cabinet formation in 2021 to equally divide the duration of ministership between four small parties- Kerala Congress (democratic), Indian National League, Kerala Congress (B) and Congress (S) - with two parties securing the cabinet berth in the first two-and-a-half years. As per the understanding, Antony Raju (Kerala Congre s s - democrat i c ) and Ahammed Devarkovil (INL) were given cabinet berths in the first half. They will complete their term on November 20.