Thiruvananthapuram: The Congress' state leadership has finalised the list of new Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) functionaries.
The uncertainty over the list of office-bearers seems to have ended with the state leadership and factional managers reaching a consensus over implementing the rules fixed for the appointment of new PCC functionaries.
Reports suggest only Padmaja Venugopal would be exempted from the rule that leaders who have occupied party posts for five years should not be appointed again. Padmaja, daughter of former chief minister K Karunakaran and sister of K Muraleedharan MP, has been given exemption as part of accomodating woman leaders in the new list. Thiruvananthapuram District Panchayat's former president Ramani P Nair and Mahila Congress leader Fatima Rosna are likely to be other prominent women on the list.
The list was delayed mainly because of the dispute over relaxing the norms for former District Congress Committee presidents M P Vincent and U Rajeevan.
As per the new consensus, former DCC chiefs would only be ex-officio invitees to the PCC. The Political Affairs Committee of the Congress had decided not to include former DCC presidents in the PCC this time.
However, the state leadership tried to accommodate the two leaders on the grounds that they had been in the posts of DCC chief only for one year and a half.
However, both the A and I factions, headed by senior leader Oommen Chandy and Ramesh Chennithala respectively, opposed the move sternly.
Chennithala on Wednesday said neither he nor Chandy had delayed the announcement of the new committee.
"The list has been handed over to the AICC. The PCC leadership had sought the list of probable candidates from us and talks were held twice. Now, we will not make any issue over the names once they are announced.
These are the times the party has to move together," the former leader of the opposition told the media.
Both the A and I factions have been upset with the new leadership, headed by PCC chief K Sudhakaran and Leader of the Opposition V D Satheesan, as they were being sidelined in the process of restructuring of the party's state unit.
While Sudhakaran and Satheesan were determined not to have a jumbo committee like in the past by limiting the list to 51, the Chandy-Chennithala combine, however, wanted it to be expanded so as to accommodate their close aides.
For the past many years the committee consists of around 100 members.
The restructuring process in Kerala triggered fireworks within the party with a few leaders quitting the Congress to join the CPM and several senior leaders questioning the style of functioning by the new leadership.
While former KPCC general secretaries K P Anilkumar, G Rethikumar and former KPCC secretary P S Prashanth joined CPM, former KPCC president V M Sudheeran has quit the Political Affairs Committee and AICC membership.
