Sun, Jan 28, 2024
Sun, Jan 28, 2024
ITDC INDIA EPRESS/ITDC NEWS The LDF on Tuesday surprised everyone by picking a completely new team, barring chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan, for its historic second government in Kerala. None from the previous government—not even Health Minister K.K. Shailaja who had done a splendid job in Covid management—has found a berth in the new government. She has been picked as the party's whip.
The new Cabinet with 21 ministers will be sworn in on May 20.
The CPI(M) will have 12 ministers, of which only two will be women. Former Lok Sabha MP M.B. Rajesh, who had captured Thrithala from UDF's V.T. Balram, will become the Speaker.
Though the omission of Shailaja, who had won the election with the highest margin of 60,963 votes from Mattannur constituency, has surprised many, she told the media that she would take up whatever responsibility the party bestowed on her. "The party decides everything. I will obey everything the party decides,'' K.K. Shailaja, one of the most popular faces in the CPI(M)’s election campaign along with Pinarayi Vijayan, told The WEEK.
According to sources, it was CM Vijayan who took the final call regarding the team. "All the CPI(M) ministers in the previous government were good performers. So, if only Shailaja was given a second chance, it will send the wrong signal," a Secretariat member told the WEEK. The party had replaced many high performing ministers like Thomas Isaac and Sudhakaran from contesting.
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