Malabar region gets eight Ministers in V.D. Satheesan Cabinet

When a Congress-led ‘full Cabinet’ is being sworn in after six decades in Kerala on Monday (May 18), the six northern districts are getting eight ministerial berths. However, Kozhikode and Kasaragod will not have any representation in the government for the time being. There will be 21 ministers in the Cabinet, including the Chief Minister.

Going by the list of Ministers announced by Chief Minister-designate V.D. Satheesan, the Congress representatives from the region are Sunny Joseph (Peravur, Kannur), A.P. Anil Kumar (Wandoor, Malappuram), T. Siddique (Kalpetta, Wayanad), and K.A. Thulasi (Kongad, Palakkad). From the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), the Ministers are P.K. Kunhalikuty (Malappuram), K.M. Shaji (Vengara), and P.K. Basheer (Eranad), all in Malappuram, and N. Samsudheen (Mannarkkad in Palakkad). IUML State president Panakkad Syed Sadikali Shihab Thangal has said that Parakkal Abdulla, who has been elected from Kuttiyadi in Kozhikode, will be given a ministerial berth after two-and-a-half years. It remains to be seen who will have to vacate his post to make way for Mr. Abdulla.

Though the region has got a fair representation in the V.D. Satheesan Cabinet, the absence of Congress nominees from Kozhikode could be a talking point in the coming days. It was widely expected that there would be at least one Minister from the district because of the party’s impressive performance here in the recent elections. The Congress did not have an MLA from Kozhikode for over two decades after the victory of the late P. Sankaran (Koyilandy) and A. Sujanapal (the then Kozhikode -1) in 2001. This time, the Congress could win from Kozhikode North, Koyilandy, Nadapuram, Elathur, and Balussery constituencies. It was expected that either district Congress committee president K. Praveenkumar, who won from Koyilandy, or Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee general secretary K. Jayanth, who emerged victorious, albeit with a thin majority, from Kozhikode North, could get a ministerial berth.

Caste, community, and regional equations could have come into play in the selection or rejection of their chances. Likewise, there were reports that A.K.M. Ashraf of the IUML, who won from Manjeswaram in Kasaragod by defeating former BJP State president K. Surendran, could be included in the Cabinet.

Meanwhile, the elevation of Mr. Siddique, a former Kozhikode DCC president, is perceived to ensure the representation of both Kozhikode and Wayanad districts. Senior party leader K. Muraleedharan, who had been elected to the Lok Sabha earlier from Kozhikode and Vadakara, is another name that adds to the list. He has family connections here and owns a house in the city.