Thiruvananthapuram: To reshuffle the cabinet or not--that is the question facing Chief Minister Oommen Chandy now. Though he planned the shuffle soon after the Lok Sabha election results were announced on May 16, it could not be done. A major part of the booth-level elections was over last week, but Mr Chandy and KPCC chief V. M. Sudheeran have not held any talks so far on the reshuffle.
Mr Chandy is under pressure from KC (B) chairman R. Balakrishna Pillai for a cabinet berth for his son, but the ‘I’ group is opposed to it. Speaker G. Karthikeyan, who has expressed his wish to be active in the party, is also waiting for a berth.
With the controversies on the closure of 418 bars and Plus-Two schools raging, the reshuffle has been relegated to the background. A top ‘A’ group leader told DC that the issue was not easy for Mr Chandy to tackle under the present circumstances.
The ‘I’ group led by Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala has opposed the reshuffle saying it will spoil the image of the government. Ganesh Kumar’s berth has to be considered first before GK is allowed to quit as Speaker, said the leader.
Another senior leader commented that Mr Chandy was in a dilemma as he could not keep his word to Mr Pillai. He said Pillai had threatened to make his son resign his MLA post if the promise was not kept. “With Chandy getting the AICC clearance to go ahead with the cabinet reshuffle, the ball was in his court to initiate talks with the party leadership. Chandy is helpless and it all depends on how he tackles Chennithala and Pillai at the same time,” said another top Congress leader.
