Senior CPI-M Leader and former Assembly Speaker MB Rajesh was sworn in as minister in the Pinarayi Vijayan-led  Left Democratic Front(LDF)  government in Kerala

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Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan administered the oath of office   to Rajesh  at a function  held at the Raj Bhavan on Tuesday morning. Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan, his cabinet colleagues and Leader of Opposition in the Assembly V D Satheesan were present at the function.

Rajesh  has been allocated the portfolios of local self-government and excise, earlier handled by MV Govindan.

Rajesh on Saturday tendered his resignation from the post  of Assembly Speaker after the ruling CPI-M decided to appoint him as a minister in the LDF government.

51-year-old MB Rajesh assumed office after MV Govindan quit the cabinet, following his appointment as the CPI-M state secretary

A  two-time Lok Sabha member from Palakkad, Rajesh won the Thrithala  Assembly seat in the 2021 polls by defeating, youth Congress leader VT Balaram