Who is Veena George? Kerala to get new Health Minister as KK Shailaja dropped from Cabinet

A day after the LDF shocked the people of the state and beyond by dropping former Health Minister KK Shailaja from Pinarayi Vijayan's new Kerala cabinet, reports from local media have suggested that journalist-turned-politician Veena George is all set to replace Shailaja 'Teacher' as the new Health Min. The LDF, which has created history by becoming the first govt to return for a second consecutive term in Kerala, dropped all its sitting ministers except CM Pinarayi Vijayan from the new cabinet in an effort to give 'fresh and new faces' a chance. Veena George, who made per political debut from the Aranmula constituency in 2016, contested and won from the same seat by a margin of over 19,000 votes in the recently concluded Kerala Assembly elections.

Who is Veena George? 

Due to the interest in this development, a lot of people have been searching for 'Who is Veena George?' Veena George is a journalist and a news anchor for Malayalam news channels. Veena George kickstarted her political career as a Students Federation of India (SFI) activist. A member of CPI(M) from Pathanamthitta, Veena George contested in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections and lost to her Congress rival by a huge margin. Veena George was first elected to the Kerala Assembly from the Aranmula constituency in 2016. 

KK Shailaja hails her own ouster

Kerala's former Health Minister KK Shailaja hailed LDF's decision to drop her from the new cabinet and claimed that there were 'many others' who work hard and hence deserve a ministerial berth. Returning to power for the second consecutive time, LDF sprung a surprise on Tuesday by dropping all the sitting ministers except CM Pinarayi Vijayan from the cabinet. Kerala's former Health Minister KK Shailaja opined that she had had a good experience on being made a Minister during the previous term and that it was 'good' that a new cabinet was being sworn in. Parroting CPI(M)'s line, KK Shailaja said that everyone had worked hard in their respective departments and that it did not mean that she would continue as the Health Minister. KK Shailaja shot to fame for the management of the Nipah virus and COVID. 

"It is good that a new cabinet is coming. Everyone should get the opportunity. The party decided to make me a Minister last time. It was a very good experience for me. But there are many other people also. Everyone worked hard in their departments. But it doesn't mean that only I should continue. There are so many other people like me, they can also work hard. It is a very good decision," said KK Shailaja.  

CPI(M) springs surprise, drops KK Shailaja, other sitting Ministers from Cabinet

On the other hand, Shailaja will now function as the party whip in the Legislative Assembly. LDF has zeroed in on ex-Lok Sabha MP MB Rajesh for the Speaker's post. All other sitting Ministers have been dropped as well. The new Cabinet will have 11 Ministers- MV Govindan, K Radhakrishnan, KN Balagopal, P Rajeev, VN Vasavan, Saji Cherian, V Sivankutty, Vijayan's son-in-law Mohd Riyas, Dr R Bindu, Veena George and V Abdul Rahman. 

The new government's swearing-in ceremony will be held at 3.30 pm on May 20 at the Central Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram. As per the COVID-19 protocols, only 500 participants will be allowed and the entry and exit of the attendees shall be regulated. Moreover, only persons producing a negative novel coronavirus test report obtained within 48 hours or the final certification of COVID-19 vaccination shall be permitted entry into the Central Stadium.