THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The AICC has retained the upper hand while announcing the 21-member Political Affairs Committee of the KPCC on Wednesday. The ball is now in the KPCC court to strengthen the party by revamping its structure. Though the panel consists of both the faction members, the AICC has also included MPs who show their allegiance to it. Opposition Leader Ramesh Chennithala, former chief minister Oommen Chandy and KPCC president V. M. Sudheeran had handed over separate panels of their loyalists to Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi two weeks ago.
Though Chennithala who heads the ‘I’ group had given the name of his trusted lieutenant Joseph Vazhakkan, he was omitted. Sudheeran’s panel contained the names of both the factions to secure his position. “The names of MPs like K. C. Venugopal (‘I’ group) and Kodikunnil Suresh (‘A’ group) were provided by Sudheeran, along with T. N. Prathapan’s. Also, leaders like Kodikunnil, Shanimol Usman, P. J. Kurien, Mullapally Ramachandran, K. V. Thomas and P. C. Chacko have the support of the AICC leadership,” said a KPCC general secretary.
But when Chandy’s group got its full panel approved, Chennithala is the loser as most of his panellists are working individually. Chandy also ensured a place for his loyalist Benny Behanan in the panel after he had to part with his Thrikkakara Assembly seat to P. T. Thomas. Though the names of V. D. Satheeshan, K. Muraleedharan and K. C. Venugopal were omitted by Chennithala, they were included by the AICC leadership. “Though K. Sudhakaran officially belongs to the ‘I’ group, Chennithala is unhappy with his bid to cultivate his own supporters. M. Liju is also closely associated with Sudhakaran,” said a top Congress leader.
