Popular health minister KK Shailaja excluded from new Kerala cabinet: Reports

Kochi - The state’s health minister, praised for her handling of Kerala’s Covid situation, will not be a part of the new cabinet.

Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan has opted to start his new government with a clean slate, dropping all previous ministers, including the popular K.K. Shailaja, who as health minister effectively handled the Covid-19 crisis in the state.

An official communique from the Communist Party of India (Marxist) said on Tuesday that Shailaja would be the party’s chief whip in the state assembly. Another former minister, T.P. Ramakrishnan has been made the parliamentary party secretary. The announcements were made after the CPM state committee meeting held in Thiruvananthapuram. Elamaram Kareem presided over the meet.

M.B. Rajesh will be the new speaker in the assembly and Chittayam Gopakumar the deputy speaker. A meeting later on Tuesday will officially announce Pinarayi’s name as chief minister and he is then expected to meet the governor with letters of support from the MLAs.

Kerala Congress (M) chairman Jose K. Mani confirmed that Roshy Augustine, the legislator from Idukki, will be the sole ministerial representative of the party in the new government. Janata Dal (S) and the Nationalist Congress Party will also get one cabinet post each.