The politics of family affairs in the new Kerala Cabinet

Politics being family affairs has become so common in India that it rarely raises eyebrows these days. Several members of the V.D. Satheesan Cabinet which took charge on Monday also come with strong family legacies in Kerala politics.

Congress Minister K. Muraleedharan is the son of the late K. Karunakaran, the Congress veteran who was Chief Minister of Kerala on four occasions. Mr. Muraleedharan is a former president of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC). Although he was appointed Power Minister in the A.K. Antony Ministry in 2004 despite not being an MLA, he had to resign when he lost the by-election from Wadakancherry. His sister Padmaja Venugopal had made news when she left the Congress to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Shibu Baby John.

Shibu Baby John is the son of the late Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) supremo Baby John, who was once known as the ‘Kerala Kissinger.’ Mr. Shibu Baby John, who represents the RSP in Mr. Satheesan’s Ministry, had served as Labour Minister in the 2011-2016 Oommen Chandy-led UDF Ministry.

P.K. Basheer, one of the five Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) Ministers in the Cabinet, is the son of the noted IUML leader and former Chief Whip P. Seethi Haji. Mr. Haji had represented the Kondotty Assembly constituency over four terms and Tanur, once.

Anoop Jacob.

Anoop Jacob is the son of former Minister T.M. Jacob, who had led the ‘Jacob’ faction of the Kerala Congress and was a highly respected legislator during his lifetime. Mr. Anoop Jacob, who was Minister for Food and Civil Supplies in the Oommen Chandy Ministry, once again represents the Kerala Congress (Jacob) in the UDF Cabinet.

V.E. Abdul Gafoor.

V.E. Abdul Gafoor, a new face in the UDF Cabinet, is the son of former Minister and IUML leader V.K. Ibrahim Kunju. Mr. Ibrahim Kunju was Minister for Industries in the 2005-2006 Oommen Chandy Ministry and Minister for Public Works in the 2011-2016 Ministry led by Mr. Chandy.

K.A. Thulasi

K.A. Thulasi, another first-time Minister, is the wife of V.K. Sreekandan, the Congress MP in the Lok Sabha. A first-time MLA, Ms. Thulasi had wrested the Kongad constituency from the CPI(M) in the 2026 Assembly polls.

Apu John Joseph.

Apu John Joseph, who is to be the new Chief Whip, is the son of Kerala Congress veteran P.J. Joseph. The former now represents Thodupuzha, the constituency which his father had represented in the Kerala Assembly for a long time.