Shock in Kerala as popular health minister Shailaja not in new Pinarayi cabinet

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The CPM, in a bid to induct fresh faces in the second Pinarayi Vijayan government, dropped the immensely popular K K Shailaja from the new cabinet, sending shockwaves across the state and among its own cadres, and spawning doubts on the continued efficacy of the state’s fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.
On Tuesday, the CPM MLAs formally elected Pinarayi Vijayan as its parliamentary party leader and chief minister candidate and announced 11 names to be inducted as ministers in the second LDF government, scheduled to be sworn in on Thursday. Shailaja has been made the party whip.
The list of ministers was finalised by the CPM politburo — comprising Vijayan, Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, M A Baby and S Ramachandran Pillai — which met here in the morning.
The party decided not to tamper with the policy it adopted ahead of the crucial election, of giving preference to new faces. As part of this policy, it had denied tickets to those who contested elections twice in succession, including senior leaders like G Sudhakaran and TM Thomas Isaac.
Accordingly, it decided to include all new faces in the next ministry. Politburo member Balakrishnan then presented the list before the state committee members for ratification. Barring a handful of leaders, including Kannur strongman P Jayarajan, in the 88-member committee, nobody opposed the secretariat decision.
The new ministers include CPM central committee member and three-time MLA M V Govindan, central committee member and former speaker K Radhakrishnan, state secretariat members and former MPs P Rajeeve and K N Balagopal, state committee members Saji Cherian, V N Vasavan, V Sivankutty and Mohammed Riyas, former Thrissur mayor R Bindu, former journalist and two-time MLA Veena George, politician-cum-businessman and two-time MLA V Abdurahiman. Riyas is the son-in-law of CM Vijayan and Bindu is the wife of CPM acting secretary and LDF convener A Vijayaraghavan.
State committee member M B Rajesh is the party's speaker candidate while T P Ramakrishnan the parliamentary party secretary. The portfolios will be decided by Vijayan later.
Vijayan called on governor Arif Mohammed Khan on Tuesday evening and staked a claim to form the new government. The CPM leaders claimed that the party's decision to go ahead with a cabinet of new faces was well thought out and only a party like CPM can take such a decision. Shailaja also endorsed the decision.