The Congress high command on Tuesday appointed party heavyweight and Lok Sabha member K. Sudhakaran as the president of the Kerala state unit at a time when confusion was prevailing after the debacle in the state elections when the Left Democratic Front won a rare second consecutive term.
Sudhakaran replaced Mullapally Ramachandran who led the party to the election.
Lok Sabha member from Kannur, Sudhakaran, is better known as an arch-rival of chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan who belongs to the same district that has given birth to stalwarts such as Communist leader A.K. Gopalan and Congress leader K. Karunakaran.
The state unit has for long been ridden by factionalism with two main groups dictating terms for decades until Sudhakaran made a pitch insisting there should be just the party and no groups. The proposal found immediate acceptance among many in the second rung of the leadership who have been waiting for a chance to prove their mettle.
The appointment of Sudhakaran could only be seen as a continuation of the changes the party has been affecting after the election when V.D. Satheesan was picked as the leader of the Opposition in the Assembly in place of Ramesh Chennithala.
Sudhakaran told reporters that Rahul Gandhi informed him of the decision over phone. “Rahul Gandhi informed me over the phone.”
“It’s a huge responsibility but I want to say that I will make all efforts to take the party forward by maintaining total unity,” he told reporters emphasising on his oft-repeated mantra that the factions should not exist in the party.
When asked how would he bring the two factions on the same page, Sudhakaran shot back in his characterising style: “I know how to make everyone cooperate as I am a well experienced politician. I am not a newcomer. It’s fifty years since I started this work.”
Party veteran and former chief minister Oomen Chandy welcomed the new president. “I wish him all success as the new KPCC (Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee) president. He will have everyone’s support in strengthening the party”
