The general body of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee on Friday passed a resolution authorising the All-India Congress Committee president Sonia Gandhi to nominate the KPCC president, its office-bearers, executive members and AICC members from the State.
It took hardly 30 minutes for the general body meeting held at Indira Bhavan, the party’s state headquarters, to pass the resolution in the form of a pre-determined script in the presence of the Pradesh Returning Officer M Krishna Swamy. The KPCC was merely following the same process that the party adopted in States like Karnataka.
The District Congress Committees in the 14 districts of the State had met on Wednesday and passed similar resolutions authorising Sonia Gandhi to nominate the DCC presidents, office-bearers and executive committee members.
Addressing a press conference, Mr. Krishna Swamy, a former Tamil Nadu Congress Committee president, expressed satisfaction at the successful completion of the election process in the party organisation in Kerala. In reply to a question, he said all sections, including women, youth, scheduled castes and tribes, had been given adequate representation at various levels of the party set up. He expected the AICC to announce the new committees and office-bearers without delay.
To a question on the validity of the nomination process, Mr. Krishna Swamy said there was nothing wrong in this as the KPCC general body had unanimously passed the resolution. Besides, the party had held elections at all levels from the ward committees to the DCC levels as part of the democratic process, he said.
According to party sources, the State leaders are expected to submit the names of leaders to be inducted as AICC members. A separate list of executive committee members and office-bearers would also be submitted not only for the KPCC, but also for the DCC presidents and other district level office-bearers.
The party had followed the consensus route in the organisational elections at the local level. In a majority of party committees, this culminated in maintaining the status quo, with a few changes made to accommodate the interests of K Karunakaran, who returned to the party since the last KPCC election.
Party sources hinted that there could be some changes in the DCC committees and some of the districts might get a new DCC president. A large contingent of Congress leaders who had quit the party along with Mr. K Karunakaran and K Muraleedharan, but returned home at various points of time, are not exactly happy at being sidelined, despite their political profile and their political currency in their respective areas. A few of them such as Shobana George, P Sankaran, N D Appachan, to name a few, have been knocking in vain on the doors for accommodation. Many of the former Karunakaran supporters are now without patrons, though a few are still rated to be winners.
Ramesh Chennithala is sure to be re-nominated as KPCC president as the party has adopted the consensus route and also because he and the Opposition Leader Oommen Chandy have proved themselves a winning combination in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections and the three Assembly bye-elections.
The final composition of the KPCC and the DCCs would also give a clear indication about the party high command thinking as the State moves towards an assembly election in a few months time. The main point of interest would be tilt in power equations in the backdrop of factional politics revolving around Mr. Chandy and Mr. Chennithala.
The KPCC general body meeting also felicitated Mr. Chandy who completed a record 40 years as a legislator, representing Puthupalli Assembly seat consecutively since first winning it in 1970. The KPCC cut a 40-kg cake to mark the occasion.
