The Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) Ministry witnessed the first round of expansion on Monday.

The Governor, Mr R.S. Gavai, administered the oath of office and secrecy to 13 legislators as members of the Council of Ministers at a function held at the Raj Bhavan here in the evening.

The list included nine from the Congress, three from the Indian Union Muslim League and one from the Kerala Congress (Mani).

The latest swearing-in has taken the strength of the United Democratic Front Ministry to 20, with a few slots remaining to be filled.

The Chief Minister, Mr Oommen Chandy, and seven senior members of the Cabinet were sworn in last Wednesday.

The tentative allocation of portfolios is as follows: Mr P.K. Abdul Rabb (IUML, Education); Mr Adoor Prakash (Congress, Health and Coir); Mr A.P. Anil Kumar (Congress, Tourism and Culture); Mr Aryadan Mohammed (Congress, Electricity); Mr K. Babu (Congress, Excise); Mr C.N. Balakrishnan (Congress, Cooperation); Mr V.K. Ibrahim Kunju (Congress, Public Works); Ms P.K. Jayalakshmi, Congress, Tribal Welfare); Mr K.C. Joseph (Congress, Rural Development, Registration and Public Relations); Dr M.K. Muneer (IUML, Panchayats and Social Welfare); Mr V.S. Sivakumar (Congress, Transport and Devaswom); and Mr Tiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan (Congress, Revenue).

PTI reports: Mr P J Joseph, who was part of the LDF for long but dissolved his party and joined Kerala Congress (M) last year, returns to the cabinet after a gap of two years.

The “unilateral” announcement of IUML on Sunday that the party would have five ministers in the Cabinet, though one of them to be included at a later stage, had left the Congress unhappy.

Mr Chandy and Mr Chennithala had said that the question of Parliamentary Affairs Ministers, for which IUML has staked claim as the fifth Cabinet berth, would be decided only after collective discussions.

IUML, the second largest component in the coalition, however, made it clear that it would not go back on its demand for five ministerial positions.

In a related development, the former KPCC President, Mr K. Muraleedharan, stayed away from the swearing-in, apparently peeved at not being considered for a ministerial berth.

Mr Muraleedharan is the son of late chief minister K. Karunakaran.

He told reporters at Kozhikode that he was not informed of the programme. “Even people who showed disrespect to Karunakaran have been accommodated in the cabinet,” he said.

Mr Muraleedharan was elected from Vattiyurkavu Assembly constituency where he triumphed LDF-Independent candidate Mr Cheriyan Philip by over 16,000 votes.

Suspended from Congress in 2005 for anti-party activities, he was re-admitted into the Congress on February 14 this year.

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