Thiruvananthapuram: Mullappally Ramachandran, 73, will steer the Congress party in Kerala to the Lok Sabha elections seven months away.
AICC general secretary Ashok Gehlot announced his appointment as the new KPCC president, replacing M.M. Hassan, in New Delhi on Wednesday.
There are three working presidents - M. I. Shanavas, K. Sudhakaran and Kodikunnil Suresh.
Benny Behanan is the new UDF convenor and K. Muraleedharan the chairman of the state election committee.
The AICC zeroed in on Mr Ramachandran after several sections within the party expressed their desire to have a leader identified with no group.
It also struck a communal balance in the appointments and created a new post in the form of the chairman, state election committee.
The decision puts to rest the speculations over K. V. Thomas as president and V. D. Satheesan as working president.
The AICC zeroed in on Mr Ramachandran after several sections within the party expressed their desire to have a leader identified with no group. It also struck a communal balance in the appointments and created a new post in the form of the chairman, state election committee. The decision puts to rest the speculations over K. V. Thomas as president and V. D. Satheesan as working president.
When DCC presidents were invited to New Delhi to make their choice, they favoured Mr Satheesan, Mr Behanan and Mr Sudhakaran as the party chief.
Mr Muraleedharan had expressed his desire to focus on his constituency, Vattiyoorkavu. His appointment as chairman of the election committee comes as a surprise. He will now play a crucial role in selecting candidates and raising funds. Now it is to be seen whether Mr Ramachandran, the Vadakara MP, will be in the fray again as he has to lead the party from the front during the crucial elections.
