THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Sending across a message of unity and intent in its efforts to recover lost ground ahead of the assembly elections, the Congress has named senior leader Oommen Chandy the chairman of the 10-member committee tasked with the responsibility of devising strategy and overseeing preparations. The AICC leadership felt that the 77-year-old former CM remaining inactive had adversely affected the party in the local body elections, which led to an outcry by the UDF allies and the NSS leadership for quick steps to salvage the front’s prospects.
The other members are Opposition Leader Ramesh Chennithala, KPCC president Mullappally Ramachandran, former KPCC presidents V M Sudheeran and K Muraleedharan, MP, KPCC working presidents K Sudhakaran, MP, and Kodikunnil Suresh, MP, AICC organising general secretary K C Venugopal and general secretary in-charge of Kerala, Tariq Anwar. Shashi Tharoor, MP, is set to come in as the 10th member.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi is learnt to have apprised the top three state leaders of the AICC delegation’s report on reasons for the debacle. A leader with Chandy’s political acumen should be used, she said in the meeting presided over by Venugopal, in the presence of CWC leader A K Antony and Anwar. TNIE has learnt only the DCC presidents in Ernakulam, Palakkad and Wayanad will be changed, with the incumbents holding dual roles. Chennithala’s stand that DCC presidents in Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha and Kasaragod need not be changed when the assembly elections are around the corner rescued the party chiefs there.
While Sonia stressed the state leadership’s priority should be to bring the Congress-led UDF back to power, Antony said newcomers should be given adequate representation alongside youth and women. The message was clear when Venugopal addressed reporters outside Sonia Gandhi’s residence in New Delhi.
“The Congress high command’s sole agenda is to bring the UDF back to power through our three-pronged strategy -- candidate selection, campaigning and electioneering. We have decided to bring in a new style of functioning. The LDF government’s arrogance after the civic body elections is going to be shortlived,” he said.The AICC leadership feels that by bringing Chandy back to mainstream politics, the traditional Christian votes lost in the recent civic body elections can be regained. With the priority being to win the assembly elections, there has been no talk of the CM candidate.
More youth, women to be fielded in poll: Antony
Congress Working Committee leader A K Antony on Monday said newcomers, especially youth and woman leaders, will get due prominence in the assembly elections.