KPCC to infuse young blood, general body to have 73 new faces

V D Satheeshan, Oommen Chandy, Ramesh Chennithala, M M Hassan and K Sudhakaran. Photo: Manorama

Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) will have 73 new faces in its to-be-formed general body, after the All India Congress Committee (AICC)'s central election authority asked it to provide more representation to those aged below 50.

Earlier, it was decided to include 45 new faces in the Congress party's State governing body. With the AICC's directive the draft list of 280 KPCC general body members will have at least 104 representatives aged below 50.

KPCC president K Sudhakaran and opposition leader V D Satheesan held talks with senior party leaders Oommen Chandy and Ramesh Chennithala on including more younger representatives. A consensus regarding including new faces was arrived at the meetings, held in the morning and evening at the party headquarters here on Monday.

Sudhakaran will travel to Delhi to seek the approval of the central list once the list is finalised. The 280-member general body is the electoral college that elects the KPCC president.

Earlier, while M M Hassan was heading the KPCC, only those deceased members and others who had left the party were replaced in the general body, without going for a total revamp. A section of the Congress workers opposed the precedence, saying the list was drafted based on factional considerations.

They also alleged that it contradicted the Chintan Shivir (brainstorming session)'s decision to reserve 50 per cent of the posts to youngsters.

Monday's meeting also concluded that the list should be drafted after excluding the inactive members, and instead add more new faces. Since the KPCC membership is the umbilical cord that links senior inactive leaders with the party, excluding them from the list was not an easy task.

The meeting discussed in detail the pros and cons of excluding such 27 leaders. KPCC general secretaries T U Radhakrishnan and K Jayanth helped in facilitating the talks.

A consensus on the members who should replace the inactive leaders eluded the meeting. However, the talks progressed based on the common refrain in the Congress that it should retain the new-found unity that reflected at the Thrikkakara bypoll.

AICC members will be decided after the party reaches a consensus on KPCC members. The leaders have reached an understanding to hold the organisation polls after the Chintan Shivir scheduled for July 23 and 24 in Kozhikode.


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