The All India Congress Committee (AICC) is reportedly on the cusp of finalising the new District Congress Committee (DCC) presidents in Kerala.
It hopes to single out Congress workers who could broaden the party’s appeal in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections in 2024.
Another stated goal of the AICC is to release the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) from the vice of group politics by giving more weight to merit in the selection. The consultations that preceded the finalising of the DCC president list had revealed a low key but intense battle for organisational control.
The vetting process saw the traditional ‘A’ and ‘I’ groups fighting to preserve their relevance in the face of an emergent axis of power allegedly led by AICC organising secretary K.C. Venugopal, KPCC president K.Sudhakaran and Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan.
A Congress insider said the AICC felt that group loyalties had recurrently taken precedence over merit in the KPCC. Aggressive group politics had proved detrimental to the party electorally.
The DCC presidents’ list pending approval of the AICC was an attempt to accommodate caste, communal, regional and group interests to some measure under the KPCC's ‘expansive tent,’ he said.
Different versions of the final list have appeared in some sections of the media. However, the KPCC has not endorsed any. It has left the task to the AICC. The final list will have the imprimatur of Congress president Sonia Gandhi.
The AICC's announcement could usher in some degree of unity in the conventionally fractious party. However, the peace could be fragile. Sharp differences over the nomination of DCC presidents remained.
Oommen Chandy and Ramesh Chennithala, who heads the ‘A’ and ‘I’ groups respectively, have complained that the KPCC had kept them out of the nomination process.
Anonymous posters had appeared against Mr. Satheesan, Shashi Tharoor, Mr. Sudhakaran and Mr. Venugopal in various parts of the State for ‘ignoring senior leaders.’ Ending group politics might be an illusory goal for the KPCC, given the growing fissures in the party.
