MALAPPURAM: The Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) has taken an uncompromising stand on securing five ministerial berths in the new UDF Cabinet, while also pushing to reclaim all the key portfolios it controlled in the 2011 government.
High-stakes discussions between UDF allies, which began on Friday night and continued into Saturday morning, are expected to determine the final allocation of Cabinet berths, portfolios and ministerial nominees.
IUML state president Sayyid Sadiq Ali Shihab Thangal joined the party’s top brass, including national general secretary P K Kunhalikutty in Thiruvananthapuram for negotiations with the UDF leadership. Following the UDF meeting, the League leadership will convene a core committee meeting to finalise the party’s ministerial list and portfolio demands.
Vengara MLA K M Shaji made it clear that the League is unwilling to surrender any of the influential departments it handled in the 2011 UDF government. “We have won 22 seats and we are entitled to all five ministerial berths. We expect to retain the same portfolios, including education. The party is also considering merging the general education and higher education departments into a single powerful ministry,” Shaji told TNIE.
According to party sources, Eranad MLA P K Basheer, Vengara MLA Shaji and Mannarkkad MLA N Shamsudheen have almost secured cabinet positions in the team to be led by Kunhalikutty. Kuttiady MLA Parakkal Abdulla and Manjeshwar MLA A K M Ashraf are also being considered if the League succeeds in securing a fifth berth.
Shamsudheen said he was optimistic about making it to the Cabinet. “I am hearing that the party is considering my name for a ministerial post. I hope it materialises. I am ready to take up any portfolio assigned by the party,” he told TNIE.
Senior League leaders indicated that the final call on ministerial appointments will rest with Thangal.
“There are strong discussions around assigning the Local Self-Government Department to Shaji, while Shamsudheen is being considered for either PWD or education. Kunhalikutty is expected to retain industries and commerce. But the final decision will be taken by Sadiq Ali Thangal himself. That is precisely why he joined the UDF talks. We expect Thangal’s intervention to settle the deadlock over the fifth Cabinet berth and regional representation from Kozhikode and Kasaragod,” a senior state committee leader told TNIE.
In 2012, after one year of the UDF government, the IUML used its strong 20-seat position to demand a fifth berth. Subsequently, Mankada MLA Manjalamkuzhi Ali was sworn in as urban affairs minister.
