Non-performing district Congress chiefs face axe

‘Not satisfactory’ appraisal for Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Alappuzha, Pathanamthitta and Idukki dist heads
Non-performing district Congress chiefs face axe

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: At least seven district Congress committee presidents in the state may get the boot if the Congress Central leadership sticks to its stand that non-performers won’t be allowed to continue.

It is learnt that the report of annual performance audit of 14 district presidents contains ‘not satisfactory’ appraisal for Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Alappuzha, Pathanamthitta and Idukki districts. In north Kerala, performance of Wayanad and Malappuram district chiefs has also been rated as ‘needs improvement’.

The current lot of 14 district Congress chiefs were appointed in August last year, following the leadership change in the state. Majority of them owed their allegiance to the new axis of power centred around national general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal.

While the two factions led by senior Congress leaders, Oommen Chandy and Ramesh Chennithala, had shared the posts until then, they were more or less wiped out from the picture with the arrival of new district chiefs who pledged allegiance to Venugopal.

Despite showing initial zeal, enthusiasm of many of the district chiefs fizzled out soon. While a few of the district committees like Ernakulam and Kozhikode excelled in their activities, others maintained status quo mostly.

Performance audit was a promise made by K Sudhakaran and V D Satheesan while taking up their new roles. “It will be difficult to move forward towards the 2024 Lok Sabha elections with the current set of district chiefs. We are contemplating replacing a cross section of the district presidents after the state Chintan Shivir is held. Those state Congress office- bearers who are non-performing will also be removed”, said a top Congress leader.

Sources said Kottayam district Congress chief Nattakam Suresh may be given medical leave because of ill health. He underwent a bypass surgery recently and requires rest for six months at least. If the presidents of non-performing committees are removed, Suresh may also be replaced on an ad-hoc basis.

Related Stories

No stories found.
The New Indian Express
www.newindianexpress.com