Thiruvananthapuram: The State Cabinet will be entirely out of the secretariat here for one-and-a-half months during the Assembly constituency tour led by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
All the 21 members of the cabinet, including the Chief Minister, will reportedly travel in the same vehicle for the public outreach programme.
There is not a single holiday for the tour, which will start on November 18 and end on December 24. The Chief Secretary will reach the tour site for the Cabinet meeting every Wednesday.
The CM and his cabinet will reach all the 140 assembly constituencies in the state. The tour will become the government version of the campaign rallies conducted by political parties or fronts ahead of the elections. A special bus will be arranged for the 21-member team. The whole team of ministers will reach each constituency together.
As per the plan, four constituencies will be visited every day. In the morning, the team will interact with important citizens of those four constituencies at an important venue in the constituency.
The Chief Minister will address the gathering for 15 minutes. Participants can express their opinions for the next 45 minutes. The Chief Minister, or the minister concerned, will respond to them.
At 11 am, an extensive meeting at the constituency level will be held. Similar meetings will be organised in the nearby constituencies at 3 pm, 4.30 pm and 6 pm. Heads of various departments are also expected to attend all the meetings. Special counters will be opened for the public to submit their complaints. If possible, the officials will settle the grievances at the counters itself. The government has issued directions in this regard.
Though the government is organising the event, efforts are on to find sponsors. It is learnt that the government will raise funds only to meet a part of the total expenditure of the programme.
The MLA of each constituency is in charge of the program. In the wake of the UDF withdrawal from the campaign, LDF will select in-charge of those constituencies at the district-level meetings.
The CPM is experimenting with a new method of bringing the government system closer to the people as a whole ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
The political aim of the campaign is to strengthen the relationship between the government and the people amid the allegations and political controversies.
Will the Cabinet reshuffle be put off, or will it be advanced?
As the Chief Minister and his ministers are set to tour the state from November 18, the question arises as to whether the Cabinet reshuffle will be effected before or after that. The second Pinarayi Government will complete two-and-a-half years on November 20.
As per the understanding in the LDF, K B Ganesh Kumar should replace Antony Raju and Ramachandran Kadannappally will come in place of Ahmed Devarkovil. If this change in the Cabinet does not take place before the campaign, then it is possible only in early January.
