Kerala CM-Designate Satheesan Meets Guv Day Before Swearing-In, Hands Over Cabinet List

After two days of discussions and deliberations, the UDF on Sunday finalised its list of cabinet ministers, with CM-designate V D Satheesan reaching the Lok Bhavan to submit it to Kerala governor. Earlier, Satheesan had said that the full cabinet, comprising 20 ministers and the CM, would be sworn in on Monday.It was on May 14 that the All India Congress Committee announced Satheesan as the leader of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) and the next chief minister of Kerala, ending days of suspense over the party’s leadership decision.The Congress-led UDF secured a more-than-two-thirds majority in the Kerala Assembly elections, but the party was unable to decide on its chief ministerial candidate amid lobbying by different camps and protests

by workers at the grassroots level.Discussions on the cabinet began on Friday and continued through multiple rounds of meetings between Congress leaders and alliance partners before the list was finalised on Sunday evening. At around 5 pm, Satheesan left Cantonment House with the list to meet the governor.He reached Lok Bhavan at around 5.15 pm and held discussions with Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar. The list of ministers is expected to be announced after his return. The swearing-in ceremony will be held at 10 am at the Central Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram on May 18.With inputs from PTI