Following the death of Kerala assembly speaker G. Karthikeyan on Saturday, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy has to perform a tough act as a new speaker has to be chosen immediately, a Congress leader said.
Karthikeyan died at a hospital in Bengaluru where he was being treated for liver cancer, the Congress said. He was 66 and is survived by his wife, a retired professor, and two sons.
A six-time member of the assembly, Karthikeyan twice served as a minister.
"With well-mannered Karthikeyan passing away, a new speaker has to be immediately elected. If someone from the cabinet is asked to become the speaker, then there would be a vacancy in the cabinet...Chandy will have to perform a tough juggling act," said a senior Congress leader.
Congress sources said it would not be a surprise if Karthikeyan's wife, a retired professor, would be asked to contest elections from Aruvikkara assembly constituency, which has been Karthikeyan's seat for a while now.
Karthikeyan expressed his desire to resign as speaker last year, but Chandy did not allow him, finding it difficult to give him a suitable portfolio, the leader said.
Among the front runners for the speaker's post will be Minister for Forests and Sports Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan after being divested of the home portfolio to accommodate Ramesh Chennithala, state Congress president for eight years.
The post might go to Chandy's closest aide K.C. Joseph, state minister for culture and public relations.
With the death of Karthikeyan, the strength of the Chandy government in the 140-member Kerala assembly, has come down to 74 against 65 of the Left.
Karthikeyan's body will be brought here by a special flight in the evening. The state Congress will make elaborate arrangements for his funeral.
Soft-spoken and mild-mannered, Karthikeyan rose through the ranks by first becoming the president of the Kerala Students' Union and then of the Youth Congress.
A known confidante of late chief minister K. Karunakaran, he stood behind him in the 1978 crisis when leaders like A.K. Antony, Oommen Chandy and V.M. Sudheeran left the party.
He fell ill in the middle of 2014 and was later diagnosed with liver cancer. In October last year, he sought expert treatment at Mayo Clinic in the US.
