3 min readThiruvananthapuramUpdated: May 20, 2026 05:58 PM IST
Congress will hold home, finance, health and tourism while junior ally Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) will keep its previously-held key departments of industries, public works, general education, and local self-government while adding fisheries and rural development to its kitty, as the V D Satheesan government announced portfolio allocation Wednesday.
In the 21-strong cabinet, Chief Minister V D Satheesan will hold finance, ports and law after being forced to surrender the high-profile home and vigilance portfolios to senior leader Ramesh Chennithala, who lost the race for the post of CM. Congress got revenue (A P Anil Kumar), health and devaswom (K Muraleedharan), electricity (Sunny Joseph), tourism (P C Vishnunadh) and agriculture (T Siddique).
Meanwhile, junior ally IUML retained the portfolios it held during the previous UDF regime, besides adding fisheries and rural development — both previously held by the Congress — to its basket.
Senior IUML minister P K Kunhalikutty, who took oath as second in the cabinet, got industries, IT, mining, AI and startups. Kunhalikutty had held the industries portfolio during the last two UDF tenures.
IUML also retained general education — which the Congress had coveted — as well as public works and local bodies. The Congress also conceded the rural development portfolio to IUML.
Higher education, which the previous LDF regime had hived off from the education portfolio, was allotted to Congress minister Roji M John.
RSP nominee Shibu Baby John is forest minister, while Communist Marxist Party’s (CMP) C P John got transport. Kerala Congress (Joseph) nominee Mons Joseph is irrigation minister, while Kerala Congress (Jacob)’s Anoop Jacob got civil supplies. With Satheesan taking the Pollution Control Board, environment went to electricity minister Sunny Joseph.
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The Latin Catholic community, living in Kerala’s coastal areas, had earlier protested against handing over the fisheries portfolio to IUML. The minority development portfolio, which had been a bone of contention between Muslims and Christians in Kerala, has also gone to IUML.
The Syro-Malabar Catholic Church wanted the Congress to take over the department, alleging disparity in distribution of benefits when Muslim ministers handled the portfolio in the past. When the previous LDF regime assumed office in 2011, Pinarayi Vijayan took over the minority welfare department. In his first regime, the department was handled by K T Jaleel, a Communist Party of India (Marxist)-backed legislator.
