A day after the UDF government took oath under the leadership of chief minister VD Satheesan, the portfolios of the cabinet ministers, including the CM, are yet to be formally notified.The newly appointed UDF council of ministers, led by CM VD Satheesan, with Kerala governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar, after their swearing-in at Thiruvananthapuram on Monday. (ANI)Hectic discussions between the Congress and its key ally, the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) over the exchange of two key departments have delayed the handover of the list of cabinet portfolios by the State government to Governor Rajendra Arlekar, a leader familiar with the details who refused to be named said.An official in the Governor’s office said, “The Governor is returning to Thiruvananthapuram from Thrissur after an official function and is expected to reach late. The handover of the list and the notification of the gazette are unlikely tonight. It may happen tomorrow.”The question of control over the departments of higher education and fisheries between the Congress and the IUML has wrangled the portfolio discussions, a leader said.In the 2011-16 Oommen Chandy government, the IUML handled the education portfolio with both general education and higher education merged. But in the decade under LDF rule, both departments were handled by different ministers.“The Congress wants to follow the LDF formula and get control of the higher education department, while leaving the general education department to the IUML. But in exchange for higher education, the IUML wants the fisheries department for one of its five ministers. A section of the Congress leadership and the Latin Catholic Church is against handover of the fisheries department to IUML,” the leader said.The portfolios of several key Congress ministers like AP Anil Kumar, PC Vishnunadh and M Liju are also unclear. While Ramesh Chennithala has been finalised to get the home and vigilance departments, senior leader K Muraleedharan said that he would be allotted the health and devaswom portfolios.An official in the CM’s office said, “The negotiations are almost over and the list is expected to be handed over to the Governor soon. Whether it will happen tonight is unclear.”