Kerala’s former Health Minister KK Shailaja dropped from new Cabinet

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) committee in Kerala on Tuesday did not include high-profile politicians, including former state Health Minister KK Shailaja, in the new Cabinet, reported The Hindu. The party nominated Shailaja, who has been lauded for her handling of the Covid-19 and Nipah outbreaks in Kerala, as the CPI(M)’s chief whip in the next Assembly.

In Kerala, the Left Democratic Front retained power in the Assembly elections, which were held on April 6. The results were declared on May 2.

Shailaja won from the Mattanur constituency in Kannur district with a total of 96,129 votes and a record margin of 60,963 votes.

All the ministers in the new Kerala Cabinet will include fresh faces except for Pinarayi Vijayan, who will be sworn-in as chief minister again on May 20, reported Onmanorama.

Amid widespread speculation about whether Shailaja had been dropped, the CPI(M) in an official statement confirmed the decision. The former health minister told a news channel that the party’s decision was paramount and that the move was a collective recommendation in line with the CPI(M)’s policies on rotating government portfolios.

“It’s a policy decision of our party and the Left Democratic Front that all the ministers should be newcomers,” Shailaja said, speaking to NDTV. “According to that decision, I also decided to quit.”

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