Kerala Cabinet formation: Next round of sparring begins in Congress

The first UDF meeting held on Friday after V D Satheesan was appointed Chief Minister was a brief, relaxed affair that left the tricky exercise of cabinet formation to a spate of charged discussions to be held on Saturday.

However, UDF convenor Adoor Prakash said that the full cabinet would be announced on Saturday. First, talks will be held with alliance partners individually, and then the UDF will convene later in the day to give its official imprimatur to the names. "Arrangements are also been made for alliance leaders to take the oath of office on Monday (May 18) along with the Chief Minister," the UDF convenor said after the meeting.

Besides Chief Minister-designate V D Satheesan, the leaders of all alliance partners attended the UDF meeting. Ramesh Chennithala, who normally attends UDF meetings, kept away, saying he had to visit the house of Congress leader Thampanoor Ravi, who was not keeping well.

The UDF convenor will hold one-to-one discussions with alliance partners on Saturday. Sources said that a consensus had already been forged on the number of ministers for each alliance partners. 

Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), which has 22 seats, will have five ministers, like last time. Kerala Congress, with seven seats, will be given two prominent posts. However, at this point, it is not certain whether the party will get two ministers. One of them could be the chief whip in the Assembly. The RSP with three MLAs will have one minister. 

The single MLA parties - Kerala Congress (Jacob), CMP and Kerala Democratic Party of Mani C Kappen - too will be given berths. RMP's K K Rema has still not expressed her desire to join the cabinet.

A top UDF source said that the leadership was open to the prospect of making former minister and Ambalappuzha MLA G Sudhakaran a minister. "There is a thinking within the UDF that the cabinet should also have a Left representation because such a huge victory could not have been possible without traditional Left votes. Who better than Sudhakaran to embody the Left voice? But so far he has not shown an inclination," the UDF source said.

The allies have already picked their ministerial candidates. But the posts of deputy speaker and chief whip could be shifted around based on the discussions that will be held within the Congress party.

Congress is likely to get 11 ministers, including the Chief Minister. The Speaker, too. The names would be finalised only after discussions with AICC general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal, who arrived in the capital on Friday evening.

Venugopal's tight body language at the Thiruvananthapuram International Airport suggested that he had still not recovered from the loss he suffered in the CM race. "Haven't you had enough of tearing me into pieces," he told reporters gathered outside the airport with a forced smile, a possible reference to the pubic disapproval of his candidature that was conveyed through the media.

It is said that Venugopal is determined to get a berth for as much of his loyalists as possible. He will meet MLAs loyal to him late in the day and is expected to hold discussions with Satheesan on Saturday. He also had informal discussions with Chennithala over the phone.

The selection of ministers is expected to be a tense affair. Both the leaders who had lost out in the CM race, Venugopal and Ramesh Chennithala, are expected to aggressively push for their loyalists. Certain UDF leaders, Onmanorama talked to, said that Satheesan also would do as much as possible to form a cabinet of his choice. Chennithala has reportedly demanded the home portfolio in addition to a cabinet berth for an MLA from his group. 

Nonetheless, berths for seniors like K Muraleedharan, Sunny Joseph and Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan are assured. There is pressure on Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan to take up the Speaker's post. He has still not given his nod. KPCC working presidents A P Anil Kumar and P C Vishnunath, both Venugopal loyalists, are also certain to be in the Satheesan cabinet. 

It is said that Satheesan had insisted on having at least two women in his cabinet. Bindu Krishna and Shanimol Usman are high on the probable list. Satheesan has also expressed a wish to have at least four young MLAs. Since he has not given his choices, these berths could go to MLAs who belong mostly to Venugopal's group. Chennithala loyalist Anvar Sadath is also high on the list of 'young probables'.