Mullappally Ramachandran appointed KPCC president

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In a perfect balancing act ahead of the election year, AICC president Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday revamped the leadership of KPCC with

Mullappally Ramachandran

at its helm. The president Mullappally Ramachandran will be assisted by three working presidents - K Sudhakaran, M I Shanawas and Kodikkunnil Suresh. Former KPCC president K Muraleedharan will be the chairman of state campaign committee.


Senior leader Benny Behnan is tipped to be the new convenor of UDF but his appointment was not announced on Wednesday as other constituents of the front need to vet his selection before making it public.

What has made Mullappally Ramachandran the undisputed choice is his non-partisan image and closeness to AICC top leadership. He had been the AICC's chief election officer under whose monitoring Rahul Gandhi was elected as the AICC president. Mullappally Ramachandran, who is a

Lok Sabha

MP representing Vadakara, enjoys a good rapport with the Gandhi family and is a trusted lieutenant of senior most Congress leader A K Antony.

The selection of working presidents was done in a manner to appease various groups in the party and balance communal equations. While Shanawas is a strong I group supporter Kodikkunnil Suresh is a staunch A group loyalist. By elevating Suresh, the KPCC has sent across a message of solidarity to the vast dalit community in the state. Sudhakaran, who was an I group leader till recently, now has an image of group less leader.

The announcement of the name of new KPCC president was delayed since the party groups in the state failed to reach to a consensus on finding a suitable canadidate for the post.

The president post was being held by seniormost vice president M M Hassan since V M Sudheeran had quit the post. Though name of Mullappally was doing the rounds for some time, pressure tactics from both A and I group to anoint their nominees Benny Behnan and V D Satheesan to the post had delayed a decision. K V Thomas MP was also trying his luck at the post.

Mullappally Ramachandran told TOI that he was happy that AICC chose him for the coveted post. “I wholeheartedly take the challenge to register an impressive win for the party in the forthcoming Lok Sabha election”, he said.

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