Thiruvananthapuram: Even as the VD Satheesan government completes 80 days in office, the Congress finds itself struggling to get its organisational machinery up and running in Kerala. With discussions on a new KPCC president yet to begin, criticism is mounting within the party that the leadership vacuum is weakening coordination between the government and the organisation.

The Congress has traditionally relied on party-level deliberations on major government decisions before taking programmes and announcements to the people. But with KPCC president Sunny Joseph becoming a minister and his successor yet to be appointed, both internal political consultations and the organisational drive to project government initiatives have ground to a halt.

Even major appointments, including those to ministers’ personal staff, have so far been made by the ministers concerned with the Chief Minister's approval rather than through the party.

The disconnect is also visible within the organisation. The party has had little role in projecting major government announcements, including the Budget, while the machinery at Indira Bhavan has remained largely inactive in taking them to the people. The contrast with the bustle at the Secretariat and ministers’ offices is striking, with the KPCC headquarters appearing unusually deserted for the headquarters of a ruling party.

The Congress leadership has held only one organisational meeting since the government took office. A decision at that meeting to put in place a mechanism for better coordination between the party and the government has not progressed beyond the discussion stage.

The District Congress Committees too are in a state of uncertainty. Seven DCC presidents have since become MLAs and, amid speculation that all 14 DCCs could be reorganised, the remaining presidents are largely operating in a routine mode.

Meanwhile, some leaders argue that the overlap between the party organisation and the government is already substantial, which leaves little scope for a disconnect between the two. Sunny Joseph, a former KPCC president, is now a minister, as are former KPCC chiefs Ramesh Chennithala and K Muraleedharan. Ministers PC Vishnunath and Roji M John are AICC secretaries.

Similarly, AP Anilkumar and T Siddique are KPCC working presidents, while M Liju and Bindu Krishna are members of the Political Affairs Committee. KA Thulasi is a KPCC general secretary. This, however, raises another question within the party about who is handling the organisational responsibilities these leaders were expected to discharge.

The Youth Congress too is awaiting a new president following OJ Janeesh joining the Cabinet.

Meanwhile, there is no clarity on when the process to select the new KPCC chief will move forward. Some party leaders say AICC general secretary Deepa Dasmunshi has prepared a shortlist of six names from which the new president is likely to be chosen. The latest indication is that senior leaders will be called to Delhi for consultations after the ongoing Parliament monsoon session concludes on the August 13.

The bigger challenge, according to some leaders, is finding a candidate acceptable to both Chief Minister VD Satheesan and AICC organisational general secretary KC Venugopal. Until that hurdle is crossed, they say, the process is unlikely to gather momentum.