Kerala may Get First tribeswoman minister

Thursday 19 May 2011: The odds are in her favour. If nothing goes wrong in the last minute, Kerala will get its first tribal minister, a woman, if Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, who is leaving for New Delhi today, gets the high command’s approval, party sources said.

Jayalakshmi, whose candidature was backed by none other than AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi, is the only woman candidate in the UDF who made it to the Assembly. She also belongs to the Kurichya tribal community. The 28yearold from Thavinjal in Wayanad, has a bachelor’s degree from Kannur University and diploma in computer application.

Chandy, along with leaders of the six allies of the United Democratic Front (UDF), was sworn in here Wednesday by Governor R.S. Gavai.

“I am very happy to be here,” an unassuming Jayalekshmi told reporters after Chandy’s swearing-in ceremony.

The other ministerial hopefuls are Aryadan Mohammed, Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan, V.D. Satishan, K. Babu, K. Muraleedharan, V.S. Sivakumar, Adoor Prakash, A.P. Anil Kumar, C.N. Balakrishnan, T.N. Prathapan, K.C. Joseph and Sakthan Nadar, the sources said. The sewaring-in of the next batch of ministers is expected to be held May 23.