'Policy of party': KK Shailaja on being kept out of new Kerala cabinet

After a historic win of the Left in Kerala, KK Shailaja, the face of the state's fight against the first wave of Covid-19 last year, was kept out of the new cabinet for the new LDF government.

Shailaja however accepted the decision humbly and told NDTV: "It is a policy decision of our party. So according to that decision, I also decided to quit."

Shailaja will become the party whip, the CPI-M said.

She won with a margin of more than 60,000 votes in the recently concluded assembly elections in Kerala.

Last year, she was picked as the "Top Thinker of the Year 2020" by a UK based prospect magazine.

Acknowledging the massive protesting against the decision on social media, Shailaja told NDTV: "That's all emotional."

She was a first-time minister too, she pointed out.

"Everyone… when they get a new responsibility they are freshers and newcomers. We have to give others a chance too. Here are so many workers in our party, if they get the opportunity, they will also work hard," said Shailaja.

Besides, she was not alone; no minister is being repeated, the former health minister said.

MV Govindan, K Radhakrishnan, KN Balagopal, P Rajeev, VN Vasavan, Saji Cherian, V Sivankutty, Mohd Riyas, Dr R Bindu, Veena George and V Abdul Rahman have been picked for the new cabinet.

Altering the trend of decades in Kerala politics, the LDF, led by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, returned to power for the second consecutive term, defeating the opponent Congress-led UDF.