VIJAYAN FORMS CABINET WITH NEW LEADERS, DROPS SHAILAJA
The ruling Communist Party of India (Marxist) on Tuesday sprang a surprise by dropping all ministers of the outgoing Pinarayi Vijayan government. The most notable among them is health minister KK Shailaja, who was the face of the fight against pandemic in the state.
Only Vijayan has retained his spot and his son-in-law, PA Mohamad Riyas, is among his new Cabinet colleagues. Party secretary A Vijayaraghavan’s wife R Bindu also figured in the new ministry.
Party sources said while many favoured a second term for Shailaja, others argued that an exception could not be made for her if it was an entirely new team this time around. While political observers said Shailaja’s popularity came in her way, there are reports that many senior Left leaders, including Brinda Karat, have expressed strong reservations over her exclusion.
Meanwhile, two women have found a place in the new Cabinet: Veena George and R Bindu. Other ministers are MV Govindan, P Rajeev, KN Balagopal, V Sivankutty, VN Vasavan, Saji Cherian, K Radhakrishnan, Mohamad Riyas, and V Abdul Rahaman. Former Lok Sabha MP MB Rajesh was elected the assembly Speaker.
: The Communist Party of India (Marxist) on Tuesday announced the release of one of the stalwart members of the previous cabinet KK Shailaja of the Pinarayi Vijayan-led government in Kerala, reported news agency ANI. KK Shailaja held the health portfolio in Vijayan’s previous government and was known for the contribution and efforts against Covid-19.
Vijayan’s new cabinet is composed of 11 fresh faces. The state committee of the Marxist party chaired by senior leader Elamaram Kareem elected Vijayan to lead the party and decided to entrust Shailaja with the position of party whip, as per a statement, reported PTI. The state committee meeting of the party was held at AKG Centre.
Shailaja gained popularity soon after the pandemic hit the country due to her rapid response to the danger of the fatal disease. By the time the first Covid-19 case arrived, on January 27, the state was already equipped with the World Health Organization’s (WHO) protocol of test, trace, isolate and support. All flights into the state’s international airports were halted even before the country went under the world’s most strict lockdown.
She garnered major international media attention, with The Guardian calling her the ‘coronavirus slayer’. The Washington Post, BBC World, and other international non-English speaking media houses are following her since the success she gained in containing the Nipah virus that hit the southern state in 2018. Shailaja’s handling of the migrant labourer issues and the start of the community kitchen programmes to ease the difficulty of the locals when the nationwide lockdown was imposed also helped her come into the global spotlight.
Vijayan led the Left Front to victory in the April 6 state assembly elections. It will be the second straight term for Vijayan.