KOCHI: The Congress party’s announcement of Sunny Joseph as the new KPCC president has triggered a realignment of internal power blocs, while also showcasing a deliberate attempt at social balancing. The move gave outgoing chief K Sudhakaran a dignified exit and installed his close confidant at the top, keeping his influence intact, said sources.
Sunny, a three-time MLA and a practising Syro-Malabar Catholic, enjoys broad acceptability in his constituency and has received “strong backing from Church leadership, including Archbishop Joseph Pamplany of Tellicherry, Archbishop Thomas Tharayil of Changanacherry, and the Ernakulam Archdiocese,” sources told TNIE.
Sources said “mounting displeasure from influential dioceses” had created pressure on the Congress leadership to ensure that the KPCC president’s post went to a Syro-Malabar Christian. The decision is viewed as a strategic step to retain the traditional Catholic vote bank that had started warming up to the BJP.
The Congress high command also ensured social balance. Alongside Sunny’s elevation, Adoor Prakash, an Ezhava, was made UDF convenor; P C Vishnunath, a Nair, and Shafi Parambil, a Muslim, were appointed working presidents, along with A P Anil Kumar from the SC community. Congress general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal succeeded in placing two of his loyalists — Vishnunath and Anil Kumar — in key roles. However, Venugopal’s third preferred name, Anto Antony, was left out — marking a significant setback and indicates his waning influence with the Congress High Command.
Anto had positioned himself as the Catholic face of the party with “support from Baselios Cardinal Cleemis, Major Archbishop of the Syro-Malankara Church,” but his campaign reportedly suffered due to a lack of acceptance from the Syro-Malabar hierarchy -- especially Changanacherry, Ernakulam-Angamaly, and Tellicherry -- and a disconnect with grassroots workers.
Further complicating his prospects were concerns over his family’s shift to the Pentecostal faith, which did not sit well with traditional Syro-Malabar segments. His “active encouragement” in the appointment of another Pentecostal, Sharmeela Reddy, as Andhra Pradesh Congress chief, raised “serious concerns about political opportunism,” an informed source said.
With support from leaders like Muraleedharan and Ramesh Chennithala, Sunny’s rise was smooth. But attention now turns to his working relationship with Opposition Leader V D Satheesan. With local body polls around the corner, the new leadership team has little time to settle in.
The absence of a woman in the top leadership continues to be a glaring omission—especially with the Women’s Reservation Bill set to take effect in 2029.
It seems, this round of appointments for the Congress in Kerala, is less about change and more about calibration -- an effort to steady the ship, with the Church and community math firmly in mind.