KK Shailaja not to be minister; only new faces in Pinarayi Vijayan cabinet

Thiruvananthapuram: Days after sweeping Kerala in the assembly elections, Pinarayi Vijayan has formed his cabinet of 21 ministers. KK Shailaja, whose work as a state health minister amid the Covid pandemic attracted much praise, would not be part of the Pinarayi Vijayan cabinet.

The decision was completely unexpected as Shailaja had won the polls with a record margin of over 60,000 votes. She is known as the best woman CPM leader in Kerala after Gouri Amma and Susheela Gopalan.

The LDF has retained power in Kerala by winning 99 seats, beating its rivals-Congress-headed United Democratic Front (UDF) and BJP-NDA. While UDF could manage only 41 seats, the saffron front failed to win any seat in the polls.

The unexpected twist happened when the party and followers confirmed Shailaja’s re-entry as health minister. Many people have described KK Shailaja’s as the future Chief Minister of Kerala