Kerala state Congress gears up for revamp

Kerala's ruling Congress prepared for the much delayed organisational revamp with prominent leaders, including Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and and state party president Ramesh Chennithala, headed to New Delhi Sunday to finalise details.

While Chennithala is expected to retain his post, all other positions, including those of the 14 district party chiefs and in the executive of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC), will have new heads, said party insiders.

The KPCC has been divided between the K. Karunakaran and the A.K. Antony factions for over three decades. With Karunakaran passing away in December 2010 and Antony, who is union defence minister, shifting permanently to Delhi, the Kerala state Congress is being run by the Chandy-Chennithala duo.

Chennithala told IANS that issues were being ironed out and that the overhaul was expected to be smooth. He added that the guiding spirit of the revamp would be the policy of 'one man one post'.

"In the coming days in Delhi, we expect to reach an understanding after taking into confidence all aspirants and leaders, both at the state and centre. We are confident that we will be able to reach a settlement on most of the seats," said Chennithala.

This will be the first major revamp since Chennithala became the president of the state unit of the Congress in 2005.

According to party sources, Chandy and Chennithala have reached a broad understanding with each faction getting seven of the 14 district committee posts.

The Chandy faction heads the feeder unit of the state Congress, the student wing and the youth wing. The women's wing is headed by a leader who owes allegiance to the Chennithala faction.

All eyes will be on Karunakaran's daughter Padmaja Venugopal, who has been maintaining a low profile, to see whether she is given a high rank in the KPCC.