THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala had nothing much to cheer in the reshuffle of the Union cabinet on Wednesday as no leader from the state was among the new faces inducted in ‘Team Modi’.Union Minister of State V Muraleedharan is likely to continue as the sole representative from the state in the Modi cabinet.
Even though there was speculation that the state may get an additional cabinet berth, BJP sources said such a scenario was unlikely due to the present circumstances. The party had fared badly in the recent assembly poll and no election is scheduled in the state for the next three years.
“An additional berth for Kerala would mean getting a leader from the state elected to the Rajya Sabha from another state. Already, there are three Rajya Sabha MPs from Kerala, including nominated member Suresh Gopi,” said a former BJP state president, requesting anonymity. Besides, the main purpose of the cabinet reshuffle was to give maximum representation to leaders from states that are poll-bound, sources said. Meanwhile, Malayali Rajya Sabha MP from Karnataka, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, has found a place in Team Modi.