New Delhi:
Kerala Chief Minister designate VD Satheesan, who will take oath tomorrow, will have a cabinet of 20 ministers. The list was finalised this evening and the names were sent to the Governor RV Arklekar, who also holds the additional charge of Tamil Nadu.
Senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala, who was an aspirant for the top job, will be part of Satheesan’s cabinet. The list also includes Sunny Joseph, K Muraleedharan and others, Satheesan told reporters this evening.
Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan will be the Speaker and Shanimol Usman will be the Deputy Speaker.
Congress ally Indian Union Muslim League or IUML will have five ministerial berths. The party announced the names also — PK Kunhalikutyy, KM Shaji, V Abdul Gafoor, N Shamsuddin and PK Basheer.
Senior leader Parakkal Abdulla will be given chance after 2.5 years, said IUML’s Sadiq Ali Shihab Thangal.
As many as 14 members of the cabinet are new faces. The list includes CP John and IUML leaders N Shamsuddin, K M Shaji, PK Basheer, and VE 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 new ministers from the party.
In keeping with the Centre’s suggestion of responsible fuel usage, Satheesan has ordered that there be no convoy, security vehicles or ambulances. He has also said he will not require a new vehicle.
The ceremony will be attended by Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, his Himachal counterpart Sukhvinder Sukhu, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar and other leaders.
The Congress-led UDF won a massive 102 seats in the 140-seat assembly in the recently concluded state elections. For 10 days, however, the party had been unable to decide on a Chief Minister. Besides Satheesan, KC Venugopal and Chennithala were also in the running for the post.