A day after the United Democratic Front (UDF) government was sworn in under the leadership of Chief Minister V D Sathisan, the portfolios of ministers, including the Prime Minister, are yet to be formally notified.
Hectic discussions between the Congress and its key ally, the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) over the swap of two key departments, have delayed the handing over of the list of portfolios by the state government to Governor Rajendra Arlikar, a leader privy to the details who declined to be named.
“The Governor is returning to Thiruvananthapuram from Thrissur after completing official duty and is expected to arrive late. The list and gazette notification are unlikely to be delivered tonight. It may happen tomorrow,” an official in the Governor’s Office said.
One leader said the issue of control of higher education and fisheries departments between Congress and IFAD had generated controversy in portfolio discussions.
In the 2011-2016 Oommen Chandy government, IUML took up the education portfolio with the integration of general education and higher education. But during the decade of LDF rule, both departments were handled by different ministers.
“Congress wants to follow the LDF formula and take control of higher education management, leaving the management of public education to IUCN. But in return for higher education, IUCN wants fisheries management to be one of its five ministers. A section of the Congress leadership and the Latin Catholic Church are against handing over fisheries management to IUCN,” the leader said.
The portfolios of several key Congress ministers like AP Anil Kumar, PC Vishnunadh and M Liju are also unclear. While Ramesh Chennithala has been finalized for the Home and Vigilance departments, Senior Commander K.K. Muraleedharan said that the health and devaswom portfolios will be allocated.
An official in the Prime Minister’s Office said: “The negotiations are almost complete and the list is expected to be delivered to the governor soon. It is unclear whether this will happen tonight.”
