Pinarayi Vijayan's trajectory towards forming his second consecutive government has invited massive flak from across the nation for reportedly not giving ministerial berth for KK Shailaja in his cabinet. Vijayan's bid to form the cabinet with new faces didn't catch well with the Kerala people who are now demanding to induct KK Shailaja back into his cabinet as the health minister to address the pandemic. 

Pinarayi Vijayan will be swearing-in as the Chief Minister of Kerala for the second consecutive time on Thursday after securing a landslide victory in the recently-held assembly polls. However, his decision of ousting KK Shailaja from the cabinet under the guise of introducing new faces had pushed him to face unprecedented outrage across and beyond the state. With one day ahead of swearing-in, several celebrities and activists had demanded Pinarayi Vijayan to induct Shailaja back into the cabinet. 

The celebrities had spelt the move of Pinarayi Vijayan dropping off Shailaja as misogyny and trended the hashtag #BringBackShailaja. Shailaja had served as the Health Minister of Kerala in the previous Pinarayi Vijayan's cabinet. During her tenure as the Health Minister, Shailaja was immensely praised for effectively handling the COVID-19 pandemic. Also known as Shailaja teacher, she was one of the reputed faces of Vijayan's previous cabinet to known nationally over her on-ground works and measures to curb the spread of the COVID-19 viral infection in the state. As the only female health minister in India, KK Shailaja has delivered a promising scale of efforts in addressing the crisis.

Several media had quoted Shailaja as the slayer of COVID-19. Shailaja was also instrumental in building what was called the 'Kerala Model' last year in containing the spread of the pandemic. Her work towards responding to the health crisis had supported Pinarayi Vijayan's government in the elections. In the recently-held assembly polls, KK Shailaja had won by over 60,000 votes from the Mattanur constituency. She was the only candidate to win the polls in such a huge margin and the ruling LDF had secured a spectacular victory by defeating Congress and the BJP.

Shailaja has vast experience in handling health crises than any other state health minister in India as apart from the COVID-19 pandemic, she had successfully handled the Nipah virus outbreak twice in 2018 and 2019. As Pinarayi Vijayan has prepared to sacrifice her from the ministry at a high time when the state needs someone like Shailaja to tackle the second wave of the pandemic, the Kerala people are not ready to miss her in the war against the pandemic. 

Though Shailaja said that she will obey everything the party decides, the voters in Kerala are not happy over Vijayan's decision. Actor Rima Kallingal took to social media and wrote, "If a landslide record win and five years of world-class service can't give you space in CPI(M), what can? This mandate was for you KK Shailaja teacher. For being the human face of the party. For your hard work." She also mentioned hashtags #bringourteacherback and #BringbackShailajaTeacher. 

By tagging Pinarayi Vijayan, actor Parvathy wrote on Twitter, "We deserve better than this! #bringourteacherback One of the most able leaders of our times! A rarity, really! @shailajateacher led the state through the most difficult of medical emergencies. She won from the Mattannur constituency in her hometown of Kannur, with a margin of over 60,963 votes! A landslide victory! The highest margin in the 140-member Assembly! And while we are still fighting the second wave of COVID-19, @cpimkerala decides to relegate her to the role of party whip??! Is this for real?"

"No justifications to this! The people chose their leaders and this sidelining puts the party in a very questionable position. What’s more important than immediate and able governance! Bring our teacher back!", Parvathy added. Congress MP Shashi Tharoor took to Twitter and wrote, "Sorry to see @shailajateacher leave the Kerala cabinet. Aside from her reputed competence & efficiency, I always found her helpful, responsive & accessible as Health Minister, esp during the #Covid crisis. She will be missed."

Author and historian Manu S Pillai wrote, "KK Shailaja deserves to be in the Kerala cabinet. Thoroughly disappointing news about her exclusion. I hope they reconsider. There is a whiff of sexism to this. Even with the criterion that besides the CM, the cabinet will be all new faces, I think ShailajaT merits an exception." On Tuesday, to mark the dissent, Kerala had seen a Tweetathon in support of KK Shailaja. 

However, amid the dissents and outrages, Pinarayi Vijayan didn't pressure the party to induct Shailaja back to the cabinet and the party has appointed Shailaja as its whip in the legislative assembly, which had no way lessened the resentments and demands. Most of the activists had said that the party is isolating Shailaja like how it had done for recently-deceased communist leader Gowriammal in 1986. With the unprecedented scale of protests and outrage, Pinarayi Vijayan will form a new government with a flawed beginning.