Mullappally, Raghavan to be consulted ahead of Congress reshuffle in Kozhikode

MPs from Kerala reportedly allege that they were being ignored while choosing nominees to various posts

District Congress Committee president K. Praveenkumar said that he would hold talks with former KPCC president Mullappally Ramachandran (in picture) on Friday. | Photo Credit: K. Ragesh

The finalisation of a list of nominees to be chosen as functionaries at the block- and district-level committees of the Congress in Kozhikode district is getting delayed further.

Though it was earlier reported that District Congress Committee (DCC) president K. Praveenkumar would submit the list to the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) on Wednesday, it has been postponed to accommodate the views of senior leaders from the district. While the DCC will have 35 functionaries, 26 block committees will get new presidents as well.

Mr. Praveenkumar told The Hindu that he would hold talks with former KPCC president Mullappally Ramachandran on Friday and K.K. Abraham, KPCC general secretary in charge of the reshuffle, would meet M.K. Raghavan, Kozhikode, MP, on Thursday. “The final list will be submitted to the KPCC only thereafter. We will listen to the views of all senior leaders from Kozhikode,” he added.

This follows a recent meeting held in New Delhi chaired by All-India Congress Committee general secretary K.C. Venugopal and attended by KPCC president K. Sudhakaran and other MPs from the State. The MPs reportedly alleged they were being ignored while choosing nominees to various posts. It was later decided to have more talks with the MPs before finalising the list.

The DCC leadership was earlier supposed to submit the list to the KPCC on March 8. Senior leaders from the district, such as Mr. Ramachandran, Mr. Raghavan, and K. Muraleedharan, Vadakara MP, objected to the process, alleging that they had not been consulted before preparing it. The KPCC’s instruction to consult senior leaders before holding meetings of the reorganisation committee had not been followed, it was pointed out.

Mr. Raghavan was the first to air his displeasure in public at an event held in memory of P. Sankaran, former Health Minister, when he alleged that some leaders were trying to accommodate their own supporters in the name of reshuffling party committees. Though this did not go down well with the KPCC leadership, which sought an explanation from the DCC, Mr. Raghavan stuck to his stand. Soon after, Mr. Muraleedharan, also a former KPCC president, too came in support of Mr. Raghavan. Mr. Ramachandran was the last to join the list.