All the PM's men

Vayalar Ravi was given the overseas Indian affairs portfolio.

A die-hard Congressman, 69-year-old Vayalar Ravi hails from the Communist bastion of Alapuzha district of Kerala and has been a key player of Congress politics in the state for the last five decades.

A staunch Nehruvian and believer of 'reforms with a human face', ministerial positions have often eluded Ravi in his long career. He was a member of the powerful Congress Working Committee as early as the 1970s.

A keen trade unionist, Ravi founded several central government staff and Public Sector Undertaking unions and has served on important labour-related panels at the Centre.

Now a Rajya Sabha member, Ravi also served as the All India Congress Committee general secretary and Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee president. His wife Mercy Ravi is a member of the Kerala assembly.

Vayalar Ravi seeks Congress President Sonia Gandhi's blessings.

Photograph: AFP/Getty Images