The Kerala Congress which has been without a proper committee will be announcing the list of office bearers by this week end. While State Congress chief and former Union Minister of State for Home, Mullappally Ramachandran was adamant for a “One man, One post” rule to be implemented in the list of office bearers, the powerful “A” and “I” group managers of the party scuttled the move.
The “A” group led by former Chief Minister Oomen Chandy was somehow accommodative to the suggestion of the KPCC president, but the “I”group led by the Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala did not budge for the “One man,One post” theory and hence the party will once again be having a jumbo list of office beares.
In addition to the KPCC president, there will be five working presidents in Kodikkunnil Suresh, PC Vishnunath, K Sudhakaran, KV Thomas and VD Satheeshan. There will be six vice presidents and thirty general secretaries in the list followed by sixty secretaries. The number of state executive members of the party is yet to be decided.
With the advent of Sonia Gandhi back as the AICC president, senior leaders of the party had a major say and it was after much confabulations and inter party discussions, the list is to be finalized. However it is learnt that KPCC president Mullappally Ramachandran was adamant that party leaders with criminal antecedents will not be accommodated as office bearer which was met with stiff resistance from the group managers.
Interestingly in the agitation against the Citizenship Amendment Act(CAA), Mullappallly has taken a stiff position that there will not be any joint agitation with the CPM. This was after the opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala had taken the initiative for a joint agitation with the CPM and other left forces and Oomen Chandy supporting this. Mullappally had stayed out of the meeting.
Incidentally the AICC highcommand - read Sonia Gandhi - had stood by the position taken by the KPCC president and in the press conference held at Kerala house, New Delhi both Chandy and Chennithala had to bite humble pie and subscribe to the position taken by the KPCC president. In the list of party office bearers also, the KPCC president had done his maximum to reduce the number of contenders and sources in the Congress party told The Pioneer that the list would have been double the present figure had not Mullappally taken a strong stand.