Thiruvananthapuram: Chief Minister Oommen Chandy is under pressure to include K.T. Jayalakshmi, the lone woman MLA in the UDF, in his Cabinet. The Congress high command, according to party sources, is keen on giving representation to women and if it has its way, Ms. Jayalakshmi, who won from Mananthavady (Scheduled Tribe), will get a ministerial berth on her first outing as a legislator.
She is known to be a staunch supporter of Mr. Chandy. Her name has been bracketed together with T.N. Pratapan and N. Sakthan on the list prepared by him for the approval of the high command.
Several women's and tribal organisations have come out in support of inclusion of Mrs. Jayalakshmi and have sent fax messages to Congress president Sonia Gandhi urging her to intervene in the ministry-making process.
The party leadership is in fact in a Catch-22 situation. Ms. Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi have been taking conscious decisions to provide sufficient political space for the Scheduled Castes and Tribes in the party's organisational setup, not to mention women in general. Sources said Mr. Gandhi was insisting that Ms. Jayalakshmi be included in the Cabinet.
The UDF's problem is that it will have to face up to a strong Opposition, led by V.S. Achuthanandan, on the floor of the Assembly. Quite a few leaders believe that only MLAs with parliamentary experience can face the strong Opposition, which has 68 members, in the House.
Mr. Chandy is unlikely to be given much option in this regard, according to sources. It is also possible that Mr. Chandy will have to include A.P. Anil Kumar, the SC/ST Welfare Minister in his earlier Cabinet, in this team.
This will enable him to achieve the factional balance in distribution of berths and take the credit for including representatives from both the Scheduled Caste and Tribes. Out of the ten Ministerial berths for the Congress in the UDF, five each will be shared by the factions headed by Mr. Chandy and Ramesh Chennithala. The Chandy nominees, including the Chief Minister, are K.C. Joseph, K. Babu, Aryadan Mohammed and Ms. Jayalakshmi. If she is not included, Mr. Pratapan or Mr. Sakthan will get a chance.
The nominees of Mr. Chennithala are C.N. Balakrishnan, Adoor Prakash, V.D. Satheesan, V.S. Sivakumar, and A.P. Anil Kumar.
She is known to be a staunch supporter of Mr. Chandy. Her name has been bracketed together with T.N. Pratapan and N. Sakthan on the list prepared by him for the approval of the high command.
Several women's and tribal organisations have come out in support of inclusion of Mrs. Jayalakshmi and have sent fax messages to Congress president Sonia Gandhi urging her to intervene in the ministry-making process.
The party leadership is in fact in a Catch-22 situation. Ms. Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi have been taking conscious decisions to provide sufficient political space for the Scheduled Castes and Tribes in the party's organisational setup, not to mention women in general. Sources said Mr. Gandhi was insisting that Ms. Jayalakshmi be included in the Cabinet.
The UDF's problem is that it will have to face up to a strong Opposition, led by V.S. Achuthanandan, on the floor of the Assembly. Quite a few leaders believe that only MLAs with parliamentary experience can face the strong Opposition, which has 68 members, in the House.
Mr. Chandy is unlikely to be given much option in this regard, according to sources. It is also possible that Mr. Chandy will have to include A.P. Anil Kumar, the SC/ST Welfare Minister in his earlier Cabinet, in this team.
This will enable him to achieve the factional balance in distribution of berths and take the credit for including representatives from both the Scheduled Caste and Tribes. Out of the ten Ministerial berths for the Congress in the UDF, five each will be shared by the factions headed by Mr. Chandy and Ramesh Chennithala. The Chandy nominees, including the Chief Minister, are K.C. Joseph, K. Babu, Aryadan Mohammed and Ms. Jayalakshmi. If she is not included, Mr. Pratapan or Mr. Sakthan will get a chance.
The nominees of Mr. Chennithala are C.N. Balakrishnan, Adoor Prakash, V.D. Satheesan, V.S. Sivakumar, and A.P. Anil Kumar.
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