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Kerala
Crucial KPCC meeting today
By Our Special Correspondent
KOCHI, DEC. 8. A crucial meeting of a sub-committee of the KPCC to finalise the distribution of DCC positions to `various groups' in the Congress will be held here on Sunday. The KPCC president, Mr. K. Muraleedharan and the UDF convener, Mr. Oommen Chandy are expected to take part in the meeting.
Most of the Congress leaders in the State are expected to be in town in connection with the marriage of the Finance Minister, Mr. K Sankaranarayanan's daughter, and they are likely to lend weight to the discussions of the nine-member sub-committee headed by Mr. K. P. Kunhikannan.
The distribution of the DCC positions has become thorny issue with each group in the Congress demanding their share.
The existing number of office-bearers in the 14 DCCs is 159 which has been agreed to be raised to 224 to accommodate the demands of the four groups.
These 224 positions have to be divided and things have come to a head with the third and fourth groups demanding that there should be a proportionate rise when the revamping is made. The group led by Mr. K. Karunakaran has the biggest share with 89 office-bearers. The "I" group has reportedly asked for nine more posts which has been conceded by the "A" group, party insiders say.
The Antony faction has only 59 posts in the DCCs and this group is the most vociferous in demanding the biggest increase now.
"What we demand is only parity with the `I' group, and this cannot be construed as unreasonable," a top spokesperson of the Antony group told The Hindu here.
The earlier ratio on deciding the DCC presidents among the four groups was six:six:one:one. That is the `I' and `A' factions taking six districts each and the next two groups having one each.
The fourth group headed by Mr. Vayalar Ravi is already having 10 office-bearers and what it demands is proportionate increase. "We will abstain from the talks and won't concede to any decision if our demand for proportionate increase is not met with," a spokesperson for the Ravi group told The Hindu. "We will then work independently", he added.
What prompts the fourth group to adopt such a stand is that it claims to have good influence in the districts of Kannur, Alappuzha, Pathanamthitta and Kollam. Hence it has demanded 25 posts.
The third group however has put up a demand for 25 posts from its existing strength of seven office-bearers. However, it is said that the `A' faction was willing to raise the number to 23 if the modalities work out according to its gameplan.
The third and fourth groups want that the formula for deciding the DCC presidents -- six:six:one:one -- should also be followed in the appointment to other posts like vice-presidents, secretaries and treasurers of the DCCs.
The number of DCC office-bearers differ from 15 to 20 depending on the block committees and the legislative constituencies in each district.
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