Pinarayi Vijayan Cabinet Minister List 2021: Pinarayi Vijayan-led cabinet has been sworn in today (May 20) at the Central Stadium in presence of a limited number of people. While Vijayan has been sworn in as the chief minister for the second time, he has inducted 20 new faces into his cabinet. Vijayan has retained key portfolios including Home while his son-in- law P. A. Mohammed Riyas will handle PWD ministry. Veena George has been given Health ministry, replacing KK Shailaja. Riyas and Veena- both are first time ministers. Vijayan’s close aide & confidant and first-time MLA K N Balagopal will helm the Finance Department replacing the high-profile leader T M Thomas Isaac. Barring Vijayan, all 11 CPI(M) ministers are new faces. Earlier on May 18, CPI(M) state committee appointed Pinarayi Vijayan as parliamentary party leader paving the way for making him the Chief Minister for a second consecutive term. In an unprecedented turn of events, Vijayan has decided to drop all the sitting ministers including health minister KK Shailaja. The CPI(M) has selected MB Rajesh as Speaker of the Kerala Assembly and KK Shailaja as Party Whip. Senior leader TP Ramakrishnan has been appointed as the Parliamentary Party Secretary.

The CPI(M) has 12 members in the new Left Democratic Front cabinet and CPI four while Kerala Congress (M), Janata Dal (S) and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) have one nominee each. The portfolio for the rest of the ministers has been made public. Below is the list of all ministers who has been sworn in today along with CM Pinarayi Vijayan:

Pinarayi Vijayan – Chief Minister, Home Affairs, IT and Public Governance, Vigilance
MV Govindan – Local Self Government Department, Excise
K Radhakrishnan – Devasom, SC/ST development
Saji Cheriyan – Fisheries and Cultural Affairs
KN Balagopal – Finance Minister, Kerala Infrastructure Investment Board (KIIFB)
P Rajeev – Department of Industries and Commerce, Law
VN Vasavan – Co-operation and Registration
V Sivankutty – General Education and Labour departments
P. A. Mohammed Riyas – PWD, Tourism, Youth welfare
Dr R Bindhu – Higher Education and Social Justice
Veena George – Health and Family Minister, Women and child welfare
V Abdurahman – Minority affairs and NRKs
Roshi Augustine – Irrigation-Water Resource Department
J Chinchurani – Legal Metrology, Animal Husbandry and Dairy Development
Antony Raju – Transport
K Krishnankutty – Electricity
AK Saseendran- Forest
P Prasad- Agriculture
K Rajan – Revenue Department
G R Anil- Food and Civil Supplies
Ahammad Devarkovil – Port, Museums and Archaeology

Notably, Muhammed Riyas is the son-in-law of Vijayan and is the national president of DYFI. It may be recalled that Vijayan had surprised everybody when he announced the list of LDF candidates for the state assembly elections in March. He had introduced a two-term limit policy for the first time. Under the policy, the party did not field those MLAs who were elected twice as an MLA before. The move led to the dropping of several senior MLAs including sitting ministers. The CPM had then said that the two-term limit is meant for infusing fresh talent into the legislative ranks. Despite the move, the CPI-M led Left Democratic Front went on to win 99 seats in the 140-member assembly.