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After several rounds of talks, Congress declares Kerala office-bearer list
The Congress was also cautious this time as the District Congress Committee (DCC) presidents’ list two months back triggered a revolt in the party, which led to many expulsions and resignations.
After several rounds of heated discussion and uncertainty, the All India Congress Committee (AICC) on Thursday released the list of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) office-bearers.
Releasing the list, state Congress president K Sudhakaran said the party is supreme and all those who love the party will have to abide by the decision of the high command. Instead of an earlier jumbo list of 150 office-bearers, this time, the list contains just 56 members.
The party will have four vice-presidents, 23 general secretaries, 28 executive members and one treasurer.
Former Speaker N Sakthan, V T Balram, V J Paulose and VP Sacheendran are the PCC vice presidents.
Among general secretaries, three are women -- former Youth Congress general secretary Deepti Mary Verghese, K A Thulasi and A Jameela. Though former chief minister K Karunakaran’s daughter Padmaja Venugopal’s name was doing rounds for some time, she failed to get into the list. Prathapa Chandran is the new treasurer. Aryadan Shoukath, Sony Sebastian, P A Saleem and A A Shukoor are prominent names in the general secretary list.
The revamping of the PCC list got delayed due to pulls and pressures from various factions. The party was also cautious this time as the District Congress Committee (DCC) presidents’ list two months back triggered a revolt in the party, which led to many expulsions and resignations. To avoid such a situation, the party had several rounds of discussion with senior leaders.
After a humiliating defeat in the April assembly elections, the party was forced to carry out major surgery in the state unit. It decided to clip the wings of two powerful groups and elevate a new crop of leaders. K Sudhakaran, a tough leader from Kannur, became the PCC president, and another popular leader V D Satheesan appointed as the opposition leader, sidelining two powerful blocs led by the former chief minister of state Oommen Chandy and Ramesh Chennithala, who led the party for more than a decade.
