Meet the ministers in Kerala’s new Cabinet

P Prasad, 51, CPI, Agriculture Minister

Elected from Cherthala constituency in his debut electoral contest, Prasad is known as a green politician as he had been in the forefront of several environmental agitations. Prasad, convener of CPI’s subcommittee for environment, had been active in the agitation against the bottling plant of soft drink major Coke at Plachimada in Palakkad. Prasad, who rose from party ranks, had been active in Narmada Bachao Andolan and protests against greenfield airport at Aranmula in Kerala. During the LDF regime of 2006-2011, Prasad had served as additional private secretary to Binoy Vishwam, then forest minister.

K Krishnankutty, 75, Janata Dal (S), Power Minister .

Krishnakutty, who won from his pocket borough Chittur in Palakkad, had served as water resources minister in the previous LDF regime for two-and-a-half years. Krishnakutty, a farmer-cum-politician, had started his political career in Congress, but moved to Janata Party and later shifted to Janata Dal. When Janata Dal (S) split in 2009, he had joined the splinter group led by M P Veerendrakumar. In 2015, he returned to JD (S). He had got elected to the assembly four times in the past. One of the senior ministers in the second Vijayan government, Krishnakutty has been in the forefront in protecting the rights of Kerala in inter-state water disputes.

A K Saseendran, 75, NCP, Forest Minister 

Saseendran had been transport minister in the first Vijayan Government. He had to quit office for a short period after a TV channel aired an audio of his sexually explicit conversion with a woman journalist. Saseendran, who won from Elathur constituency in Kozhikode, had been with Congress but moved to Left in 1978 along with A K Antony. Although Antony later went back to Congress, Saseendran stood with Congress (S), an ally of LDF since 1982.  Since 1980, he has contested eight elections and won six times. Although the Kerala unit of the party had split on the eve of assembly elections, the Saseendran faction stood with LDF in Kerala and with Sharad Pawar at the national level.

Antony Raju 67, Janadhipathya Kerala Congress, Transport Minister

Antony Raju is a surprise winner of this election from Thiruvananthapuram Central, where he defeated Congress’ sitting legislator V S Sivakumar, BJP’s actor-turned-candidate Krishnakumar. Antony, who belongs to the backward Christian community in the coastal area, has been an odd man in the regional party Kerala Congress, dominated by upper caste Catholics of Central Kerala. He had contested five elections from the state capital since 1991 but won in two times, including the victory of 2021. When his mentor P J Joseph of Kerala Congress (Joseph) returned to UDF in 2015, Antony split the party and floated Janadhipathya Kerala Congress, which remained with LDF. A lawyer by profession, Antony ensured representation for the coastal community in the second Vijayan regime.

Ahamed Devarkovil, 61, Indian National League, Port and Archeology Minister 

By becoming a minister in the second Vijayan Government, Ahamed has ensured the debut entry for his party, which veteran parliamentarian late Ebrahim Sulaiman Sait had formed in 1994 after walking out of Indian Union Muslim League in the post-Babri churning in that party. INL had been with LDF since then, but was made an ally only before the last Lok Sabha elections. Ahamed had been with IUML, but moved to Mumbai to run a travel agency in 1980’s. Later, he joined INL in Mumbai when the party was formed in 1994. After he started a travel agency business in Kozhikode, Ahamed converted that city into his political ground. He also rose as INL state president and national general secretary. In his maiden electoral battle in Kozhikode south, he defeated IUML woman candidate Noorbeena Rasheed.

K Rajan, 47, CPI, Revenue Minister 

He won from Ollur constituency for the second term in 2021. Rajan had served as the Government chief whip in the previous LDF regime, but only from 2019. He started his political career as a leader of All India Students’ Federation, the student wing of CPI, and later rose to the leadership of its youth outfit All India Youth Federation (AIYF). A member of CPI state executive, Rajan has been active in several agitations against the previous UDF regime of 2011-2016. A lawyer by profession, Rajan had led the LDF agitations against bar bribery and solar scandals of UDF.

Chinchu Rani, 57, CPI, Animal Husbandry and Dairy Development Minister

Chinchu Rani got elected from Chadayamangalam in her first electoral battle and went on to become a minister as CPI wanted to nominate a new team to the LDF government.  She is the first woman minister from CPI, after the party split in 1964, leading to the formation of CPI(M).  Chinju, an athlete during her college days in Kollam, had got initiated into the state’s three-tier local body. She had been a member of Eravipuram village panchayat as well as the district panchayat in Kollam. She is currently a member of CPI the national council and the state executive. Her husband D Sukesan is also a CPI leader in Kollam.

G R Anil, 58, CPI, Civil Supplies Minister 

Anil represents Nedumangad assembly seat in Thiruvananthapuram. Anil, who had served as CPI district secretary in Thiruvananthapuram, had been a member of the city municipal corporation for ten years. A former district secretary of the All-India Kisan Sabha, Anil is currently the party’s state working committee member and district vice-president of the All-India Trade Union Congress (AITUC). A law graduate, Anil is a leader of several AITUC affiliated trade unions. His wife Latha Devi, a retired college professor, had got elected to the state assembly from Chadayamangalam constituency in 1996.

Roshi Augustine, 52, Kerala Congress (M), Water Resources Minister

Roshi, a shadow of Kerala Congress (M) chairman Jose K Mani, rose to prominence in the party after the death of K M Mani in 2019. He stood with junior Mani in the intra-party tussle over its legacy and emerged as the second-in command under Jose. Roshi got elected from Idukki constituency, which he has been winning since 2001. The unexpected defeat of Jose K Mani in the elections, paved the way for Roshi’s entry into the second Vijayan cabinet. A law graduate, Roshi had entered politics through KC (M) youth outfit Youth Front.