Journo, teacher and now a minister; Know more about Veena George

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The second Pinarayi Government will be sworn in day after tomorrow. The list of the ministers was released today. All except the chief minister, are new faces. We had two women ministers in the first Pinarayi Cabinet--K K Shailaja and J Mercykutty Amma. One among the two fixed this time is Veena George, who won from Aranmula constituency.

This is the second time Aranmula is with Veena. One of the main reasons for getting the ministerial berth was to be able to reach the helm of Aranmula known as the UDF stronghold. Veena who was active in news channels unexpectedly became the LDF candidate in the assembly elections in 2016. She defeated sitting MLA advocate Sivadasan Nair by a margin of more than 7000 votes in her first turn.

Veena George started her political career through SFI. With the start of her journalistic career, she stayed away from active politics for some time. Veena George was one of five Indian journalists selected to cover the US presidential election in 2012. She has won Kerala TV Award for best news presenter. She has also received North American Press Club and UAE Green Choice Awards. People hope that Veena will be able to become one of the best ministers after taking charge.

Veena holds a Bachelor's and a Master's degree in Physics and B.Ed and is also a rank holder. She had also served as a teacher at Catholicate College in Pathanamthitta for one and a half years. She is the daughter of P E Kuriakose, a lawyer and Rosamma Kuriakose, former municipality councillor. Dr George Joseph, a lecturer is her husband. Anna and Joseph are her two children.