On the heels of the crisis in the Congress in Kerala over the selection of the Chief Minister has come an equally intense battle for the post of Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president.  According to party insiders, the KPCC president Sunny Joseph, MLA-designate, is likely to relinquish the organisational post to take up a significant role in the next United Democratic Front (UDF) government, leaving the KPCC president’s post up for grabs. 

A senior leader said a restructuring of the KPCC leadership was inevitable, and that age, social demographics, and political merit would guide the All India Congress Committee (AICC)’s choice for the post. 

According to sources, the frontrunners for the post include Benny Behanan, Kodikunnil Suresh, Anto Antony, and Shafi Parambil -- all Lok Sabha MPs. Sources said Mr. Behanan wasn’t keen to lobby for the post if the decision was guided by caste and religious considerations. He is said to be miffed about being passed over for the post in the past despite his “experience and organisational standing.”

Meanwhile, media reports suggested that Mr. Kodikunnil Suresh has once again advanced his claim for the post and had met Congress president, Mallikarjun Kharge, in Delhi. Mr. Suresh told the Hindu that it was too early for the AICC to weigh which leader was optimal as KPCC president. “I had met Mr Kharge. It was a routine goodwill visit, and we did not dwell on any organisational matter. The high command is now preoccupied with discussions concerning Kerala’s prospective Chief Minister. The question of who will assume charge as the next KPCC president would come later”, he added. Neither Mr. Shafi nor Mr. Antony was immediately available for comment. 

INTUC steps in

Meanwhile, the question of who among V.D. Satheesan, K.C. Venugopal, and Ramesh Chennithala would be Congress’s Chief Minister in Kerala continued to roil the party’s State unit on Monday. The ongoing tussle over Congress’s Chief Minister choice appeared unabated, with the party’s trade union, the INTUC, wading into the dispute. INTUC leader R. Chandrasekharan appeared to object to Mr Venugopal’s candidature, stating that an MLA-designate should be the party’s candidate for the top post.

Meanwhile, the party high command has begun consulting senior leaders on the issue. It has summoned former KPCC presidents, K. Sudhakaran, Mullapally Ramachandran, and K. Muraleedharan to Delhi for consultation. A KPCC insider said the high command will likely seek the opinion of party veterans, including A.K. Antony and V.M. Sudheeran, before taking a final call.