Thiruvananthapuram: The second Pinarayi Vijayan-led cabinet will take the oath of office on May 20.
The date for the swearing-in of ministers was decided at a CPM-CPI bilateral meeting here on Thursday. The cabinet is likely to have 21 ministers. A final decision on the size of the cabinet would be made only after considering the claims of other constituent parties of the Left Democratic Front (LDF).
CPI would get four ministers and the post of the Deputy Speaker. If Kerala Congress (M) has to be accommodated, CPI would offer it the post of the Chief Whip.
A final decision on offering ministerial berths to single-MLA parties has been pending, though the bilateral meet gave indications that they won’t be considered to the cabinet.
Besides Pinarayi Vijayan, CPM politburo member Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, CPI state secretary Kannam Rajendran and CPI central control commission member Pannyan Ravindran attended the meeting that lasted more than 1.5 hours.
CPM and CPI would hold one more bilateral meeting before a LDF meeting scheduled for May 17. The CPM state committee would select the party’s ministers on May 18, and the CPM and LDF’s parliamentary party meetings would be held the same day.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan would meet the governor with the letter of support from the MLAs on May 19. CPI would decide its ministers either on May 17 or 18. The swearing-in ceremony at the Raj Bhavan would be held under strict COVID-19 protocol.
The schedule might change if the nine-day lockdown, starting Saturday, fails to meet the desired end.
Kerala Congress (M) might get a cabinet berth and the post of the Chief Whip, though the party has been demanding the Front to accommodate two ministers.
Janata Dal and Nationalist Congress Party might get one minister each. The CPM may have 14 ministers, if the Front decides to increase the cabinet strength to 21 and also deny ministerial berths to single-MLA parties.
