Denial of a second term to Kerala's popular Health Minister K K Shailaja has once again triggered allegations of male dominance in politics. Shailaja is being widely equated to K R Gouri Amma, who was once allegedly denied the post of chief minister by the party leadership.
Despite widespread criticism on social media platforms for excluding Shailaja from the new Pinarayi Vijayan cabinet, party leaders maintained that no changes would be made. Party state secretary in-charge A Vijayaraghavan said the party did not come across any 'social media campaign'.
In the 1987 Kerala Assembly election campaign, a popular slogan of the CPM (in Malayalam) was, 'Keram tingum Kerala naadu K R Gouri bharicheedum', translating to "K R Gouri will rule the land of coconut trees". Gouri Amma, one of the founder leaders of the Communist movement in Kerala, was then projected as chief ministerial candidate.
However, after the elections, the CM's post went to E K Nayanar, and in due course, Gouri Amma, who had proven her skills in governance, was shown the door by the CPM. They accused her of anti-party activities. Since then, she has often been referred to as a victim of the male supremacy in politics. The issue gained traction again, after she died at the age of 101 last week.
Exactly a week after her death came the surprising move of denying a Cabinet berth to Shailaja in Vijayan's second term. This is despite the fact that she won the polls with a record majority. Hence, the gender bias in politics has once again become a hot topic in Kerala.
Veteran journalist and political commentator B R P Bhaskar said there were many reasons to feel that Shailaja was facing the same fate as Gouri. It seems the CPM did not want to have another Gouri in the making. Otherwise, it was only logical to retain her in the new cabinet, he said.
Meanwhile, the decision of the LDF to induct 17 new and comparatively young faces to the 21-member new Cabinet has been generally welcomed. Many Youth Congress leaders are also seeing it as a positive move.
However, concerns are being raised whether the lack of experienced persons in the Cabinet may have adverse impacts on governance. "Preferably, a cabinet should be a mix of experienced leaders as well as newcomers," said Bhaskar.