Pinarayi-Led Kerala Govt Mulls On Changing Portfolios, Minister Veena George Likely To Lose Health

It is also said that health might go to K Radhakrishnan (SC/ST and Devasom), VN Vasavan (Cooperation) or Saji Cherian (Culture, Fisheries).

Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan | Credit: ABP Nadu

Chennai: Just ahead of completing his first year of the second term in office, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan is seriously mulling a change in the cabinet. As per early information, it is said that journalist-turned State Minister Veena George might lose her health portfolio.

According to top sources, there have been murmurs about the way she has been handling the portfolio and during the recently concluded CPI-M State Party conference held in February and the 23rd Party Congress that concluded at Kannur on Sunday there were talks about it.

Vijayan is mulling to change the portfolios of only a few of the CPI-M Ministers. It is also said that health might go to K Radhakrishnan (SC/ST and Devasom), VN Vasavan (Cooperation) or Saji Cherian (Culture, Fisheries).

A media critic on condition of anonymity said the biggest problem was that Veena had she succeeded KK Shylaja, who got all the accolades from the media in the way she handled the Covid pandemic till April 2021 and it was in May that Veena took over.

45-year-old Veena was a popular news anchor with a few TV channels here, when in 2016, she got a surprise call from the CPI-M asking her to enter politics. She won in her home district Pathanamthitta from the Aranmula constituency defeating Congress veteran and sitting legislator K Sivadasan Nair in 2016 and repeated the same in 2021.

It was on May 20, 2021 that Vijayan was sworn in for his successive second term, a first of its kind for any CPI-M led government in the history of Kerala, and the question is will Vijayan do the tinkering before or after the first anniversary.