UDF convener Adoor Prakash echoes CPI(M) charge that Satheesan’s style of functioning threatens the collective responsibility of the cabinet

UDF convener Adoor Prakash.

United Democratic Front (UDF) convener Adoor Prakash, MP, appears to have inadvertently found himself on the same page as the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)), signaling that Chief Minister VD Satheesan’s alleged tendency to concentrate power in his office has significantly compromised the collective responsibility of the ceramic cabinet.

Mr Prakash told reporters in Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday that “evidence of collective responsibility is leaking out into the open”. When asked if the UDF ministers were unhappy that the CMO had blindsided him on key governance issues, Mr Prakash quipped, “You should ask the cabinet ministers.”

Mr. Prakash’s statement took on political significance in the backdrop of Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president and Power Minister Sunny Joseph publicly airing his displeasure at having to learn about the controversial and now revoked power purchase agreement with GNA Energy, a private sector entity, through the media.

Mr Prakash’s statement came hours before CPI(M) state secretary MV Govindan told a press conference that Mr Satheesan had significantly undermined the constitutional principle of collective responsibility of the Council of Ministers by concentrating power in a “shadow clique representing dubious private interests centered in the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO).

Mr. Govindan also singled out at least three ministers, including Mr. Joseph, Excise Minister M. Liju and Health Minister K. Muraleedharan, who he claimed had expressed displeasure at being blackballed by Mr. Satheesan’s office on political and administrative matters.

Mr. Govindan also said that Mr. Liju learned about the issuance of multiple licenses to the law firm through the media. He also claimed that Mr Muraleedharan felt superseded by the CMO in administrative decisions.

Asked if the UDF met to discuss key policy decisions, including the new excise duty policy for fiscal 2026-27, changes in higher education, including the controversial decision to allow autonomous colleges a free hand to start new courses, and the division of corporate boards and chairmen among the ruling front-runners, Mr. Prakash said, “The only president of the UDF is the chairman of the UDF meetings. Satheesan).”

Asked if his complaint to the All India Congress Committee about Mr Satheesan’s alleged attempt “to derail the ruling alliance by taking decisions without consulting allies or reaching consensus” fell on deaf ears, Mr Prakash said: “I stand by my publicly stated stand on the UDF meeting.”

In October, Mr Prakash signaled his rift with Mr Satheesan by publicly airing complaints about the “lack of consultation in the UDF, including alleged arbitrariness and lack of transparency in decision-making on key issues, including political appointments and broad policy-making at the level of the chief minister’s office.”

Published – 10 Nov 2026 20:47 IST