Eight existing members from Ernakulam have faced the axe from the newly-constituted Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC).
While five of them were ‘natural’ exclusions, three were shown the door citing non-performance, say party sources.
Former MLA K. Mohammed Ali was persona non grata and received no one’s support. His place was taken by C.O. Paul, nominated by senior leader P.C. Chacko. Another ex-MLA, M.A. Chandrasekharan, and Mohammed Kutty ‘Master’ had the solid recommendation of K.V. Thomas, MP, but failed to make it to the list. They were replaced by Hibi Eden, MLA, and I.K. Raju, who is from the Ramesh Chennithala faction of the party.
Former minister and a strong representative of the backward sections in the region, M.A. Kuttappan was not considered as he was indisposed, said party sources. His place was taken by B.A. Abdul Muthalib.
A.C. Jose, who expired, has been replaced by former MLA Dominic Presentation. While K. Babu, former minister from Thripunithura, has replaced P.M. Mohammed Haneef who opted out to concentrate on trade union work. Simmy Rosebell John, who is a member of the State Public Service Commission, has her place being taken by K.K. Vijayalakshmi while Ajay Tharayil, a member of the Travancore Devaswom Board, has been substituted by K.P. Haridas, from the INTUC.
In all, KPCC has 28 members from the district.
