Satheesan Government Draws UDF Fire Over Unconsulted Cabinet‑Rank Appointments

Kerala chief minister V D Satheesan’s administration has sparked a fresh feud within the United Democratic Front after appointing two leaders to cabinet‑level posts without consulting senior Congress figure Adoor Prakash. At a Thursday press briefing, the UDF convenor, a veteran Congress MP, said decisions were made “without keeping me in the loop” and that he now has to answer questions from party workers across the state. He reminded the audience that the AICC had chosen him for the role and vowed to raise his grievances with the national party leadership. The controversy centers on the selection of K M Muneer, a senior Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) leader, as head of the state’s administrative reforms body, and G Devarajan, Forward Bloc’s national general secretary, as the government’s special envoy in Delhi. Both positions carry cabinet‑rank status and the perks that go with them. The posts, originally created by the previous Left Democratic Front government to accommodate senior officials, had several Congress aspirants, but the new appointments push the IUML’s cabinet‑level tally to six. Prakash, who had hoped to contest the upcoming assembly polls, argued that the chief minister, as UDF chair, should have called a meeting before such moves. He added that despite his role as UDF convener, he was left out of key decisions. Sources close to Satheesan claim the issue had been discussed earlier and was settled. The row adds to a series of criticisms aimed at Satheesan since his May swearing‑in, including complaints about private helicopter use, policy reversals on the Vizhinjam port, and the perception that most Congress ministers were hand‑picked by AICC general secretary K C Venugopal, who lost the chief‑minister race. Opposition parties, especially the BJP, have seized on the appointments to allege that the IUML now dominates the UDF government.

Context

The IUML has traditionally been a junior partner in Kerala’s UDF coalitions, and its growing presence in cabinet‑rank posts often triggers debate about the balance of power between the Muslim League and the Congress within the alliance.