Kerala Transport Minister Antony Raju and Ports Minister Ahamed Devarkovil resigned from their posts on Sunday as the ruling Left Democratic Front announced a cabinet reshuffle, reported PTI.

KB Ganesh Kumar of Congress (B) and Ramachandran Kadannappally of Congress (S) will replace the two ministers, said Left Democratic Front convener EP Jayarajan. Their oath-taking ceremony is scheduled to be held on December 29.

Both Kumar and Ramachandran have previous experience holding the same portfolios in the state.

This came as the Pinarayi Vijayan-led Kerala government completed its half-term. The cabinet reshuffle is part of the pre-election agreement within the Left Democratic Front coalition.

After the 2021 Assembly elections, the Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led alliance had decided to allocate cabinet berths to four single-MLA parties on a “sharing the term” basis. A decision to share the term was taken later.

Raju, a senior leader of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), has been holding the transport portfolio since 2016, when the Vijayan government first assumed power. Devarkovil, from the Indian National League (INL), a key party in the coalition, has been the Ports Minister since 2021.

After tendering his resignation, Raju said he was ready to resign in November but had to delay it due to the Nava Kerala Sadas.

“Yesterday, it was the culmination of Nava Kerala Sadas and I got the opportunity to preside over the historic event,” said Raju. He added that he was happy to resign as the transport minister after clearing all the salary dues to the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation staff.

Devarkovil said he was satisfied with his role as a minister for the past two-and-a-half years.