Congress factions are all set to consolidate around Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president Ramesh Chennithala and Chief Minister Oommen Chandy. The proposed reconstitution of the party apparatus, expected to materialise in August soon after the Vice-Presidential election, would prove to be an exercise that would virtually give official recognition to the two groups, making a clean break from the way the party has functioned shunning factional politics since 2005-06 following the split led by K. Karunakaran.
Factionalism revolving around the two had come into existence a few years ago, though it is not officially recognised or accepted. If all things remain equal, the two factions would have an equal share of the KPCC office-bearers and president posts of the District Congress Committees (DCCs) on the basis of a ‘pick and choose’ formula. The current thinking in the Congress leadership is to adopt this formula to induct functional leaders and ease out non-performers among the DCC presidents, some of who are in office on an ad hoc basis.
Accordingly, the two factions are likely to share six DCC presidents’ posts each, leaving two posts to be allotted to representatives of other groups, including the one led by Padmaja Venugopal, mainly to accommodate former Karunakaran men. According to party sources, the incumbent DCC presidents of Thrissur, Kasaragod, and Kannur would be eased out citing age reasons, while Idukki, Palakkad, Pathanamthitta, Malappuram and Ernakulam DCC presidents would be retained since they have put in only a limited number of years. In the case of Alappuzha, Kozhikode, Kottayam, Kollam, and Thiruvananthapuram, there would be a total overhaul with new faces being inducted. In the case of Ernakulam, the incumbent V.J. Paulose would be retained because the construction of a new office of the DCC is yet to be completed.
There would also be changes in the posts of KPCC office-bearers, many of whom have either become members of Parliament or the Assembly. There could also be some changes in certain feeder organisations such as the Kerala Karshaka Congress. The norm of one man, one post would be implemented, with Mr. Chennithala alone being exempted from this.
The emergence of two factions has made supporters of Vayalar Ravi uneasy. A delegation of the former fourth group met the KPCC president and the Chief Minister and staked their claims to a DCC president’s and KPCC general secretary’s posts. The delegation also wanted the State leadership to utilise the services of Mr. Ravi, who, the delegation claimed, had a large following among the backward classes and weaker sections. The party leadership is also considering a proposal to set up a core committee, modelled after the one at the Centre, to ensure a level-playing field for senior leaders, besides reducing the strength of the executive committee.
