New Cabinet led by CM Pinarayi Vijayan assumes charge in Kerala

The 21 member Kerala Cabinet, which largely comprises first time ministers, assumed charge on Thursday. Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan administered the oath of office and secrecy to chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan and the rest of the left democratic front (LDF) ministers.

The cabinet includes 17 first time ministers, including three women. This includes 12 ministers from CPI(M), four from CPI, and one each from Kerala Congress (M), Indian National League (INL), Democratic Kerala Congress (DKC), NCP and Janata Dal (Secular).

The LDF is a coalition of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) CPI(M)), Communist Party of India (CPI), Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and a bunch of regional parties from Kerala.

The ministers were sworn in at a grand ceremony on a specially built stage carpeted in a shade of red and decked with red flowers at the central stadium in Thiruvananthapuram. A music video that included AR Rahman, KJ Yesudas and other prominent musicians was shown before the oath-taking ceremony.

"It could have been a low key affair. We are in the middle of a pandemic. And a government which is hard-pressed for money should have avoided spending so much on a oath-taking ceremony,' said J Prabhash, former pro-vice-chancellor of Kerala University and political analyst.

This is the first time since 1977 that a ruling coalition that completed a full term has been voted back to power. And Pinarayan Vijayan became the first chief minister to complete a full term and get reelected.  In 1977, K.Karunakaran replaced C. Achutha Menon as the chief minister when the coalition came back to power.

Vijayan held his first cabinet meeting on Thursday and announced some government initiatives for the next five years. Vijayan said that the government would remove extreme poverty from the state in the next five years.

The chief minister said the secretaries of the local government department had been directed to conduct a detailed survey in this regard to determine the distress factors and submit suggestions.

Vijayan also announced that the state government would bring legislation to prevent the loss of accommodation through foreclosure proceedings. The cabinet has directed a committee comprising two senior IAS officers and an expert lawyer to study the issue and submit a report by July 15.

"Further steps will be initiated based on that report," said Vijayan.

The swearing-in was attended by CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, leaders of the LDF, former ministers in the LDF government and other prominent personalities from various walks of life. Opposition parties decided to stay away from the ceremony due to the prevailing COVID situation.Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated the new chief minister in a tweet.  

On Thursday morning Pinarayi Vijayan and the minister designates from CPI(M), and CPI offered tributes to martyrs of the Punnapra-Vayalar uprising. Paying homage to  Punnapra-Vayalar martyrs before taking the oath is a tradition followed by communist parties since  1957 when the first communist party government led by E.M.S.Namboothirippad came to power.

The swearing in  had more than its share of controversies. The LDF had received a flak for the delay in the cabinet formation. Initially, the plan was to invite 750 guests for the oath-taking ceremony, which was cut down to 500 after public outrage.

The Kerala High Court refused to set aside the state government's decision to conduct the swearing-in ceremony. However, the court had directed the state government to adhere to Covid-19 protocol strictly and suggested the government consider measures to bring down the number of invitees.

Similarly, the CPI(M)'s decision not to include former health minister KK Shailaja had angered the general public. And many had taken to social media to vent their frustration about her exclusion.  Shailaja was elected with a historic margin of 60,000 votes, the highest margin ever in any Kerala assembly election.

And her handling of the Nipah outbreak and the first wave of the COVID-19 had won her plaudits from across the globe. CPI(M) had decided not to give a second term to any minister from the party who was part of the previous LDF government except Pinarayi Vijayan. The CPI(M) had earlier decided not to field members of the legislative assembly (MLAs) who have completed two consecutive terms. This decision kept 33 sitting MLAs, including former finance minister Thomas Isaac out of the fray.

" A cabinet mostly with fresh faces won't help the government. They also need people with experience. And by not inducting a senior leader like Shailaja, the question of who will lead the party in 2026 has been left unanswered. If they had inducted her, it could have sent a message that she is the second in command," said Prabhash.

Nidheesh MK, journalist and political analyst, based in Kerala, said CPI (M) is trying to effect a generational change both within the party and the government. "There are 17 first term ministers and 10 out of them are first time MLAs, a rarity."

"There are 17 first term ministers and 10 out of them are first time MLAs. This is happening for the first time after the first communist goverment came to power in 1957 ."

The inclusion of Pinarayii Vijayan's son-in-law  P.A. Mohammed Riyas and R.Bindu, wife of LDF convenor A. Vijayaraghavan has also raised eyebrows.

" There are more experienced legislators than both Riyas and Bindu. Both are first time MLAs, and they are yet to prove their mettle as legislators; neither do they bring any domain expertise,' said Prabhash.

However, some defended the decision saying that both Riyas and R. Bindu had a long public life before they were chosen as ministers.

" Both Riyas and R.Bindu have broken glass ceilings in their own way. Riyas has been a party worker since his school days. He has gladly taken up every responsibility which the party entrusted him. He contested an election much before he married Vijayan's daughter, which he lost narrowly. In a way, he had worked all his adult life for the party. And finally, when he gets a position, people allege nepotism," said Nidheesh.

" There are several male MLAs whose wives have positions in the party. Nobody is saying they got their positions because of their spouse. Nepotism is when you give an undue preference to someone, when someone is parachuted. I think some  so called editors are commenting without understanding CPI(M)'s organisational culture."

Regarding Shailajs's exclusion, Nidheesh said CPI(M) could have embraced her popularity and made her an exception.

" I would have wanted Shailaja as the chief minister of Kerala either now or in 2026.  If she does not have any ministerial responsibility this time, she will not have any accomplishment to show. And there will not be any skin in the game to ask for a ticket in 2026 unless CPI(M)feels the need to promote her,' said Nidheesh.

"But I don't think she is irreplaceable. KK Shailaja's popularity is a product of the CPI(M) and Kerala's public health care system. She did not invent Kerala's public healthcare system nor Kerala's communist party. "