KPCC finalises list of office-bearers

Emphasis on youth, women and caste demographics

October 09, 2021 08:36 pm | Updated 08:36 pm IST - Thiruvananthapuram

The Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) has finalised the list of party office-bearers.

KPCC president K. Sudhakaran and Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan is in New Delhi for last-minute consultations with the All India Congress Committee (AICC). The AlCC is likely to announce the list soon. The 51-member apex decision making body of the KPCC will include general secretaries, vice presidents and secretaries.

The leaders had consulted Oommen Chandy and Ramesh Chennithala before leaving for New Delhi.

The Congress has attempted to engineer a generational shift in the party. The new list is supposedly a microcosm of Kerala society. It factors in caste and regional interests and strives to strike a winning social balance ahead of the Lok Sabha elections in 2024.

In the 2021 Assembly elections, the Congress had lost votes across the board. It got defeated in electoral strongholds. The party saw an erosion of minority community votes to the LDF. The Congress had retreated in Central Travancore and North Kerala.

The current organisational rejig aspires to enhance the party's public acceptance by giving representation to all groups.

The emphasis is on youth, character and organisational ability. Many young workers felt they lacked opportunity in the party. Women leaders saw no incentive to dedicate themselves to organisational causes. The new list of KPCC office-bearers aspires to correct the anomalies.

The KPCC has excluded leaders holding elected office and those with a chequered history. It has also exempted leaders who have neglected organisational responsibilities in the past.

The party's evaluation of the 2021 Assembly poll debacle had a bearing on the reorganisation. In the 2021 elections, the party was unclear about who was in charge. After the debacle, the leadership exhibited signs of bitter division. Leading figures fell out with each other publicly, and several defected to the CPI(M). Moreover, the UDF showed signs of cracking further.

The KPCC has now attempted to establish a clear hierarchy in the party. At a stroke, it has sought to create a second line of leadership that would galvanise the party and the flailing UDF alliance.

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