Thiruvananthapuram: Sulking former union minister Prof K V Thomas was on Thursday appointed Working President of the Congress in Kerala, ahead of the crucial assembly elections expected in April-May this year.

The party also announced appointment of C K Sreedharan as a Vice-President of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC).

"Hon'ble Congress President (Sonia Gandhi) has approved the proposal for the appointment of Working President and Vice President of KPCC in addition to the existing Working Presidents and Vice Presidents" with immediate effect, AICC General Secretary K C Venugopal said in a statement.

A former Food minister and five time MP, Thomas had represented Ernakulam in the Lok sabha and state assembly for several years. He had also served as state Fisheries and Tourism minister.

After being denied a ticket in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, Thomas was upset and had been keeping a low profile.

There were reports that Thomas could move closer to the Left camp during the assembly polls, if he was denied an appropriate post in the party.

However, he had rubbished the reports and ruled out leaving the Congress, which is keen to come back to power in the state in the polls.

On February 2, the Congress central leadership had announced formation of a 40-member state election committee for the assembly polls. Several former union ministers, including A K Antony and Shashi Tharoor, are part of it.  

(With PTI inputs)