Wayanad: Buoyed by the gains in the Lok Sabha elections and worried about the inroads the BJP has been making, the Congress in Kerala has chalked out a preliminary plan to win the local body elections due in the state next year.
Top leaders of the party would take up the responsibility to wrest the corporations, according to the action plan prepared by the party at a two-day leadership camp conducted by the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) in Wayanad concluded on Wednesday.

KPCC president K Sudhakaran, Leader of the Opposition V D Satheesan and Congress Working Committee (CWC) member Ramesh Chennithala will take up the responsibility of coordinating the election works in the six corporations in the state.

In the 2020 elections, the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) had lost all but one corporation. The UDF suffered a setback in the local body elections held a year after it won 19 out of 20 Lok Sabha seats. The big win in the local elections also paved the way for the CPM-led Left Democratic Front’s (LDF) historic re-election in the assembly polls held a year later in 2021.

This time, the Congress will be keen to avoid such a situation, if the KPCC’s action plan is anything to go by. “The camp’s common decision is to wrest power in local bodies through disciplined organisational works,” the party said in a statement after the camp.

Sudhakaran has been given the charge of the Kannur corporation, the only corporation where the UDF is in power, while Satheesan has been assigned to ensure victory in Kochi. Chennithala will look after Kozhikode. AICC secretary and young MLA Roji M John has been given the charge of Thrissur corporation. Former Minister V S Sivakumar has to handle Thiruvananthapuram and P C Vishnunadh MLA, Kollam.

The party has divided the 14 districts into three zones and KPCC working presidents have been given the charge of each segment. Kodikkunnil Suresh MP has been given the charge of Thiruvananthapuram zone while T N Prathapan has to look after the Ernakulam zone. The northern zone of Kozhikode goes to T Sidhique MLA.

Apart from the general secretaries, senior leaders including elected representatives have been given additional charge of each district.

The leaders and the districts in their charge are Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan MLA (Thiruvananthapuram), Adoor Prakash MP (Kollam), Shanimol Usman (Pathanamthitta), K C Joseph (Alappuzha), Benny Behanan MP (Kottayam), Joseph Vazhakkan (Idukki), Anto Antony (Ernakulam), A P Anilkumar (Thrissur), T N Prathapan (Palakkad), M K. Raghavan MP (Malappuram), Rajmohan Unnithan (Kozhikode), Sunny Joseph MLA (Wayanad), T Siddique MLA (Kannur), Shafi Parambil MP (Kasaragod).

The party has decided to take up local issues concerning people as well as expose the anti-people steps taken by the central and state governments.

At the meeting, V K Sreekandan MP presented a resolution against the Centre’s move to divide the Palakkad railway division. The meeting said UDF MPs will lead protests against the move which will scuttle railway development in Kerala.

UDF convenor M M Hassan delivered the speech commemorating former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy. PCC president Sudhakaran delivered the valedictory address. AICC general secretaries K C Venugopal MP, Deepadas Munshi, Opposition Leader Satheesan, AICC secretaries Viswanatha Perumal and P V Mohan spoke.