The second Pinarayi Vijayan government in Kerala, to be sworn in on May 20, will have a 21-member cabinet, LDF convener and CPI(M) acting state secretary A Vijayaraghavan said.

The oath-taking ceremony of the new LDF government would be a low-key affair with limited invitees in THE LIGHT of the COVID-19 situation, he said here after the crucial state committee meeting of the Left Democratic Front.

But the decision to hold the function in the Central Stadium with 500 invitees has already invited widespread criticism. The LDF convenor said the portfolios of the ministers would be decided by the Chief Minister. CPI(M), the largest coalition partner, in LDF would have 12 members in the new cabinet while CPI, the second-largest party, would have 4 nominees while Kerala Congress (M), Janata Dal (S) and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) would have one representative each, he said.

As there are restrictions to accommodate more than 21 members in the cabinet, the LDF decided to share the ministerial berths to four of its allies, having a single MLA, on a term basis, he said. With this, it has become clear that Antony Raju, (Janadhipathya Kerala Congress), KB Ganesh Kumar (Kerala Congress-B), Ahammad Devarkovil (Indian National League) and Ramachandran Kadannappally (Congress-S) would be inducted into the cabinet in two phases.

While the CPI(M) and CPI would hold the speaker and deputy speaker posts respectively, the Chief Whip post would go to a KC-M nominee. The LDF parliamentary party leader would be elected on Tuesday after which the Governor would be consulted with regard to the swearing-in ceremony, he added.

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