Sankar ministry


The Council of Ministers of Legislative Assembly, Kerala state (better known as the R. Sankar ministry was the Council of Ministers, the executive wing of state government, in the Indian state of Kerala. The ministry was led by Indian National Congress leader R. Sankar from 26 September 1962 to 10 September 1964 and had 11 ministers.
Deputy Chief R. Sankar was elevated to the post of Chief Minister when the incumbent Chief Minister Pattom A. Thanu Pillai was appointed as Governor of Punjab.
Sankar held office for nearly 2 years before losing a no-confidence motion when dissenters within the Congress party split to form the Kerala Congress, following the resignation and subsequent death of P. T. Chacko. the Chacko loyalists in the Congress party grouped together and formed the Kerala Congress under the leadership of K. M. George with the blessings of Mannath Padmanabhan, NSS supremo.

Council of Ministers

MinisterMinistry/PortfolioParty
1R. SankarChief MinisterIndian National Congress
2P. T. ChackoMinister for Home Affairs
Indian National Congress
3K. A. Damodara MenonMinister for IndustriesIndian National Congress
4P. P. Ummer KoyaMinister for Local Administration, Fisheries & Public WorksIndian National Congress
5K. T. AchuthanMinister for Transport & LabourIndian National Congress
6E. P. PouloseMinister for Food & AgricultureIndian National Congress
7K. KunhambuMinister for Harijan Welfare & RegistrationIndian National Congress
8D. Damodaran PottiMinister for Public Works
Praja Socialist Party
9K. ChandrasekharanMinister for Law and Revenue
Praja Socialist Party
10M. P. Govindan NairMinister for Public Health
Indian National Congress
11T. A. ThommanMinister for Land Revenue, Law & Legislation Indian National Congress

Vote of No-Confidence

The controversial resignation of the then Home Minister P. T Chacko led to an outburst within the Congress party. With Chacko's failure to win the party presidentship and his subsequent death, 15 Congress MLAs split from the parent party under the leadership of K. M. George. The government which was running on a narrow majority subsequently went on to lose the no confidence motion 73-50.
Soon afterwards, dissenters from the Congress party subsequently formed a new party Kerala Congress. This had a major role on the fortunes of the Congress party in the 1965 assembly elections with the Congress securing 36 seats and the Kerala Congress 25 seats. The two parties together garnered nearly 45% of the vote share, evidently showing that a united Congress would have returned to power.