Thiruvananthapuram: The much-delayed revamp of the Congress party in Kerala is expected soon. The Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) has issued guidelines on the organisational restructuring.

Half of the office-bearers in the District Congress Committee (DCC) should be new faces and below the age of 50. The presidents of the local self-government bodies and cooperative bodies have been barred from becoming office-bearers, but there is no bar on them from becoming executive committee members.

The permanent employees in government, quasi-government and cooperative institutions and the presidents and vice-presidents of the three-tier panchayats have also been barred from becoming block presidents of the party.

The new organizational restructuring guidelines also clarifies that those who have faced KPCC disciplinary action in the past two years will not be considered at any level.

All, except those who were appointed block and mandalam (constituency-level) presidents in the past year, should vacate their positions. Outgoing block presidents who excelled in their role can be considered for DCC positions. Once mandalam presidents are confirmed, the other office-bearers there should also be finalised.

The district committees should hand over their recommendation regarding DCC office-bearers and block presidents to the KPCC. However, the decision with regard to mandalam presidents has been handed over to the district committee, subject to final approval by the KPCC. If there are disputes, then the decision will be taken by the KPCC.

One of the block presidents in a district has to be a woman. One mandalam committee under each Assembly constituency should be headed by a woman.

25 office-bearers each in 4 districts

Kasaragod, Wayanad, Idukki, and Pathanamthitta DCC will have 25 office-bearers each. These districts are permitted 19 general secretaries, 5 vice-presidents, and a treasurer. Among office-bearers, there should be four women, including a Scheduled Caste woman. These districts should have an executive committee of 26 members each.

Thirty-five office-bearers are allowed for other DCCs. These districts should have 35 general secretaries, 6 vice- presidents, and a treasurer. Of them, six should be women and three should belong to the Scheduled Castes. Moreover, there will be an executive committee of 36 members in these districts.