THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Despite opposition from Congress state chief K Sudhakaran and a section of party leaders in Kerala, the high command is all likely to nominate Pathanamthitta MP Anto Antony, a close confidant of AICC general secretary K C Venugopal, as the new state president.
Anto’s name is expected to be announced by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Venugopal in a day or two.
The central leadership is learnt to have taken the decision after Rahul Gandhi held deliberations with former state presidents and senior leaders to end the stalemate in the state Congress following opposition from some senior leaders and Sudhakaran against Anto’s appointment.
Though the names of Roji M John, Sunny Joseph, Adoor Prakash and Mathew Kuzhalnadan were considered in the first lap along with Anto, only Sunny and Anto entered the final round, Congress insiders said.
The AICC had put the announcement on hold after senior leaders like K Muraleedharan and Shashi Tharoor objected to a change of leadership and Sudhakaran openly revolted against the high command, said sources.
Anto, who was a confidant of Oommen Chandy, is expected to take his new charge after visiting the tomb of the former chief minister. The four-time MP started his political career in the Congress through Kerala Students Union and was the DCC president of Kottayam. After being defeated by CPM’s Suresh Kurup in his first election to the Lok Sabha from Kottayam in 2004, Anto shifted his base to Pathanamthitta, from where he won in 2009, 2014, 2019 and 2024.
The high command decided to look for a new KPCC president following complaints from several senior and youth leaders about the ill health of Sudhakaran and his absence in organisational work. The difference of opinion between Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan and Sudhakaran also worked as a catalyst in his likely exit from the post.
The two leaders’ silly quarrels which came out in the open had affected the image of the Congress, the high command feels.
Cong high command unhappy with state leadership’s handling of issue
The high command zeroed in on Anto after the state party leadership led by Satheesan reportedly appraised it that a Christian face is the need of the hour to fill the vacuum left by A K Antony, who has retired from active politics, and the late Oommen Chandy. They had also conveyed the high command that the Catholic Church was not so happy with the lack of Christian leaders in the party after the Kerala Congress (M) left the UDF.
The high command is learnt to be unhappy with the way Sudhakaran handled the whole issue. On May 3, Kharge and Rahul summoned Sudhakaran to New Delhi and conveyed him the central leadership’s message.
He was reportedly told that in order to strengthen the organisation, the high command would take a call at the appropriate time. However, Sudhakaran was not happy that he was not consulted about the appointment of the new state president. He was also unhappy with the lack of a package for his rehabilitation.
EDITORIAL JUNKS RUMOURS OVER CHURCH’S ROLE
KOTTAYAM: The Catholic Church has denied any involvement in the selection of a new Congress state president. In an editorial published in Deepika, the official publication of the Catholic Church, on Tuesday, the institution firmly rejected allegations of seeking political favours or attempting to sway party appointments. The article also emphasised that the Church “has no interest” in determining how many ministerial posts or party positions should be allotted to the community.
