THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Belying expectations of a thorough organisational revamp following its debacle in the recent assembly elections, the BJP in Kerala chose to make only a few cosmetic changes to its list of office-bearers. Along with state president K Surendran, who carried out the “revamp”, all six state general secretaries will continue in office.
Five new district presidents have been appointed — in Pathanamthitta, Kottayam, Palakkad, Wayanad and Kasaragod. A poor show in the assembly polls and organisational weaknesses were cited as the reasons for the reshuffle. However, the present district leadership in Thiruvananthapuram — where the party suffered major electoral reverses — will continue, thanks to its proximity to the official faction.
B Gopalakrishnan, C Sivankutty and P Reghunath are the new inclusions in the list of 10 vice-presidents. Senior leaders Sobha Surendran and A N Radhakrishnan, who share an uneasy relationship with the official faction, will continue as vice-presidents.Surendran said the revamp will continue.
“Party committees will be trimmed. BJP has a strong mechanism to scrutinise its leaders and their performance. Party discipline is paramount and those violating it will be dealt with strongly,” Surendran told mediapersons at Nadapuram.
Actor Krishnakumar makes it to BJP nat’l council
Actor Krishnakumar who unsuccessfully contested from Thiruvananthapuram assembly segment, has been nominated to the national council. Senior leader J R Padmakumar, who is not identified with any faction, has been removed from the post of state treasurer and included as one of the 10 state secretaries.
While former Palakkad district secretary E Krishnadas is the new state treasurer, K V S Haridas, T P Sindhumol and Sandeep Vachaspathi are the new inclusions in the list of party spokespersons. Former state Congress secretary Pandalam Prathapan, who recently defected to the BJP, has been appointed as state secretary.
“The revamp can more or less be called a recruitment drive exclusively for leaders close to the V Muraleedharan- Surendran camp. In districts such as Palakkad and Kasaragod, only the names of district presidents have changed but their loyalties have not,” opined a former state chief. According to party insiders, the official faction and detractors had reached an informal agreement before the revamp.
This is cited as a reason why a few district presidents owing allegiance to the P K Krishnadas faction have been left untouched. The district presidents in Pathanamthitta, Kottayam and Wayanad who are not identified with either factions faced the axe and were replaced with leaders close to the official faction.
Contrary to speculation, state general secretary (organisation) M Ganesh, who is the link between the BJP and Sangh fountainhead RSS, has not been replaced. The party finding itself on a sticky wicket in the Kodakara black money episode is cited as the reason why no replacement has been made to the key post.