All You Need To Know About Youngest Members Of Kerala Cabinet: Riyas And George

PA Muhammad Riyas, who contested in the recent Assembly elections in Kerala, won the seat with a record majority of 28,747 votes. He is set to be the youngest member of the new Kerala cabinet.

Riyas, aged 45, is a native of Kozhikode and an advocate by profession. As per sources, he will most likely hold two portfolios, including Tourism and Public Works Department, reported The NewsMinute.

He started his political career through the Students Federation of India (SFI) and later went on to become the Kozhikode district secretariat member of SFI and state joint secretary of DYFI. At present, he is the state committee member of CPI(M) and the national president of the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI).

In June 2020, that Riyas married Pinarayi Vijayan's daughter Veena. The wedding took place at Cliff House, the official residence of Kerala CM, in the presence of close relatives and friends.

Riyas was included in the cabinet as a representative of the youth wing of the party. Previously, he was active in agitations against the NDA government held in Delhi, including anti-CAA protests.

Opposition parties have criticised the appointment of Riyas, who won the election for the first time this year and is now a part of the newly formed cabinet.

Riyas had contested the Lok Sabha election in the Kozhikode constituency in 2009. However, he was defeated by MK Raghavan by over 838 votes. Earlier, he had not been a popular face at the party.

Last week, Riyas launched the 'Nammal Beypore' project in his constituency to fight against COVID. With this project, he aims to ensure the supply of medical oxygen, pulse oximeters and medicines in all hospitals in Beypore.

Apart from Riyas, Kerala has scripted history with its decision to appoint a woman journalist-turned politician as one of the ministers to govern the state. A member of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), Veena George, had an outstanding career as a journalist for 16 years where she worked with several Malayalam news channels.

She is reportedly to succeed KK Shailaja as the health minister in the newly-elected cabinet. In 2016, Veena had entered politics after winning the Aranmula assembly seat. Five years later, in 2021, she was re-elected from the same constituency by an impressive margin of 19,003 votes.

Also Read: Kerala: 'Teacher' Shailaja Left Out Of New Cabinet, CM Pinarayi Faces Flak