Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday afternoon took oath as Chief Minister of Kerala. Governor Arif Mohammed Khan administered the oath of office to 76-year-old Vijayan. It is the second Pinarayi Vijayan is in the top office.
Mr Vijayan’s CPM-led Left Democratic Front bucked the trends – the state usually alternates between the Left and a Congress government – by registering a dominant win in the April-May election – the LDF won 99 of 140 seats.
The swearing-in ceremony is took place outdoors at the Central Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram with 500 people in attendance with all Covid protocols in force.
Opposition Congress-UDF leaders kept away from the function in view of the spike in coronavirus cases.
The Kerala High Court had on Wednesday directed the state government to restrict the number of participants in the ceremony in view of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Kerala Cabinet Ministers List 2021
Pinarayi Vijayan – Chief Minister
MV Govindan
K Radhakrishnan
Saji Cheriyan
KN Balagopal
P Rajeev
VN Vasavan
V Sivankutty
Muhammed Riyas
Dr. R Bindhu
Veena George
Abdul Rahman
Communist Party of India leader K Rajan will be Kerala’s new revenue minister, KN Balagopal will take over the finance ministry, while P Prasad will take over the agriculture portfolio, The Indian Express reported. Janata Dal (Secular) leader K Krishnankutty will be the state’s power minister.
MLA Veena George is expected to replace KK Shailaja as the health minister, NDTV reported. The CPI(M) has been criticised for dropping Shailaja from the new Cabinet, despite her praiseworthy record in handling of the Covid-19 and Nipah outbreaks in the state.
