Kerala Chief Minister-designate V. D.Satheesan on Sunday unveiled a 20-member cabinet ahead of the swearing-in of the new government on Monday. Addressing a press conference after submitting the list of ministers to Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar at Raj Bhavan, Satheesan said the names were finalised after discussions among alliance leaders, taking into account the social and regional balance within the coalition.
Congress leaders P. C. Vishnunadh, Roji M. John, Bindu Krishna, T. Siddique, K. A. Thulasi, and O. J. Janeesh are also among the new ministers from the party. The UDF has also decided to appoint senior legislator Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan as Speaker of the Assembly, while Shanimol Usman will serve as Deputy Speaker.
FULL REPORT | Who are Kerala's Congress ministers as V. D.Satheesan submits cabinet list
Meanwhile, the cyber wing of Kerala's principal opposition CPI(M), which faced a heavy defeat after a historic decade in power, was quick to call out the number of individuals from political families who made it into the cabinet. Only Chandy Oommen, son of the late Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, missed out, as there were as many as seven "nepo appointments" in the new cabinet, they alleged.
From the IUML, Kalamassery MLA V. E. Abdul Gafoor is the son of the late V. K. Ebrahimkunju, while Ernad MLA P. K. Basheer is the son of party icon P. Seethi Haji. Kerala Congress leaders Anoop Jacob (Piravom) and Apu John Joseph (Thodupuzha) are the sons of T. M. Jacob and P. J. Joseph respectively. Also joining them is RSP leader Baby John's son, Shibu Baby John.
From Satheesan's own Congress party, K. A. Thulasi, wife of Palakkad Lok Sabha MP V. K. Sreekandan, and K. Muraleedharan, son of former Chief Minister K. Karunakaran, have been inducted into the cabinet, they pointed out.
It needs to be noted that Apu Joseph's cabinet position is not confirmed yet as the Kerala Congress has confirmed that senior leader Mons Joseph will get the one confirmed berth their party has been allotted. The KC(J) is heavily lobbying for a second representative, which, if approved, may go to Apu. Otherwise, the Thodupuzha legislator will be appointed the Government Chief Whip and the criticism will still stand.
When K. C. Venugopal, Ramesh Chennithala, and Satheesan were involved in an internal tussle for the Chief Minister's chair, the Congress had called it the "beauty of democracy." The Left supporters have now started ridiculing the elevation of so many MLAs from political families as the "beauty of democracy" that the UDF stands for.
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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 an 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 the 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, he 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, they will be published as a gazette notification," he said.
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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, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, and 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.
He also said former Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, BJP state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar, CPI state secretary Binoy Viswam, and IUML leaders are expected to attend.
