Kerala Chief Minister-designate V D Satheesan on Sunday announced a 20-member cabinet ahead of the new government’s swearing-in, featuring a mix of senior leaders and 14 first-time ministers, including two women and two Scheduled Caste representatives.
Allies, including the Indian Union Muslim League, have been accommodated in the Congress-led United Democratic Front cabinet, which will take oath on Monday.
Addressing a press conference after submitting the list of ministers to Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar at Lok Bhavan, Satheesan said the names were finalised after discussions among alliance leaders, keeping in mind social and regional balance within the coalition.
As many as 14 members of the cabinet are new faces.
The ministers announced include senior Congress leaders and former ministers Ramesh Chennithala, K Muraleedharan and A P Anil Kumar, besides KPCC chief Sunny Joseph.
Chennithala was among the frontrunners in the chief ministerial race before the AICC selected Satheesan.
Senior IUML leader P K Kunhalikutty, RSP leader Shibu Baby John, Kerala Congress leader Mons Joseph and Kerala Congress (Jacob) leader Anoop Jacob will also be ministers. All of them have served as ministers in the previous UDF government.
The new faces in the cabinet include C P John and IUML leaders N Shamsuddin, K M Shaji, P K Basheer and V E Abdul Gafoor.
Congress leaders P C Vishnunadh, Roji M John, Bindu Krishna, T Siddique, K A Thulasi and O J Janeesh are also among the first-time ministers.
The UDF has also decided to appoint senior legislator Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan as Speaker of the Assembly, while Shanimol Usman will serve as Deputy Speaker.
Later, Satheesan’s office informed that Apu John Joseph, son of Kerala Congress chairman P J Joseph and MLA from Thodupuzha, will be the Chief Whip.
Satheesan said several deserving leaders could not be accommodated in the cabinet despite the Congress securing 63 seats, calling it one of the party’s biggest victories in the state.
“Let new faces come. There should be opportunity for all,” he said.
When asked about the exclusion of some prominent names, he said there could be others who were equally or more deserving.
“However, when a party like Congress makes decisions, factors such as social and regional balance have to be considered. We have 63 MLAs after a historic victory, but could accommodate only 11 in the cabinet,” he said.
Regarding portfolio allocation, Satheesan said it was almost finalised and would be discussed further with alliance partners.
“Usually, portfolio details are submitted to the Governor after the swearing-in ceremony. We will submit them on Monday. After the Governor’s approval, it will be published as a gazette notification,” he said.
He added that there was an understanding with alliance partners on portfolio sharing and further discussions would be held.
Satheesan said senior Congress leaders, including Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, along with several chief ministers, are expected to attend the swearing-in ceremony.
He added that Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Joseph Vijay has not confirmed his participation and may attend later.
Satheesan also said former Kerala Chief Minister and CPI(M) veteran Pinarayi Vijayan, BJP state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar, CPI state secretary Binoy Viswam and IUML leaders are expected to attend the ceremony.
He noted that while the previous cabinet had no Scheduled Caste ministers, the new cabinet includes two.
“In recent Congress history in Kerala, there have been only two women ministers, and a woman has also been selected for the Deputy Speaker post,” he said.
On cabinet decisions, Satheesan said announcements would be made soon after the first cabinet meeting.
“Whatever we promised will be implemented. We have come here to realise the aspirations of the people,” he said.
Rejecting allegations of factional considerations, he said no Congress leader tried to influence the ministerial selection process.
“What group is there in the list? No Congress leader influenced any person. The first list was prepared in just 10 minutes. Later discussions were held considering various factors,” he said.
He added that the cabinet list was prepared on Saturday evening and submitted to the Governor on Sunday evening.
“It was possible due to cooperation within the Congress and alliance partners,” he said.
Satheesan also denied differences with Kerala Congress (J) leader P J Joseph over cabinet allocation.
He added that representatives of the Sivagiri Mutt did not submit any list during their meeting earlier in the day.
The UDF won 102 of the 140 Assembly seats, with the Congress accounting for 63 MLAs.
The swearing-in ceremony will be held at 10 am at the Central Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram on May 18.
