Thankachan, Shanavaz KPCC vice-presidents

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI SEPT. 20. Locked in a battle of wits with his son and KPCC chief, Mr. K. Muraleedharan, and his traditional rivals in the party, over Mr. P. C. Chacko's appointment as one of the two vice-presidents of the KPCC, Mr. Karunakaran has finally had his way.

The octogenarian leader not only managed to prevail upon the AICC leadership to appoint his nominee, Mr. P. P. Thankachan, as a vice-president, but also managed a place for his daughter, Ms. Padmaja Venugopal, in the 39-member PCC executive.

Mr. Chacko who appeared to have the support of all the factions, now has to contend himself with a membership of the State Election Committee and the PCC executive. Mr. Chacko was a frontrunner for the vice-presidents' post but ultimately lost out to Mr. Thankachan who was backed by Mr. Karunakaran. Mr. M. I. Shanavaz has been named as the other vice-president.

The reconstitution of the Kerala PCC was on the verge of completion some weeks ago but a last-minute standoff over Mr. Chakco's appointment delayed it. Mr. Muraleedharan had completed the exercise after extensive consultations with all the groups. However, a last-minute objection by his father held up the process. Though Mr. Karunakaran objected to Mr. Chacko's inclusion, the KPCC chief stood by his recommendation and the matter finally landed in the AICC's court.

Mr. Muraleedharan met the Congress president last month but did not change the list and left the matter to Mrs. Sonia Gandhi. Mr. Karunakaran also flew down to the capital and held a series of meetings with the AICC general secretary in charge of the State, Mr. Ghulam Nabi Azad, as well as the Congress president. He appears to have ultimately had his way.

The former MP, Mr. Thalekkunnil Basheer, figures in the list of 14 general secretaries. According to sources, the groups led by Mr. Karunakaran and Mr. Antony have six representatives each. Mr. N. C. Balakrishnan has been appointed treasurer of the party.

The top leaders of the State have been accommodated in the 12- member Election Committee. Those included in the election committee are Mr. Vayalar Ravi, Mr. P. C. Chacko, Mr. Aryadan Mohammed, Prof. P. J. Kurien, Mr. P. P. George, Mr. G. Karthikeyan, Ms. M. Kamalam, Mr. T. Radhakrishnan, Mr. K. P. Vishwanathan, Mr. K. P. Kunhikannan, Mr. K. P. Nooruddin, and Mr. A.P. Anil Kumar.

The party has also gone in for large-scale changes in the list of DCC presidents. The presidents of all the districts except that of Palakkad have been changed.

The 39-member list of AICC members from the State includes the former KPCC president, Mr. C. V. Padmarajan, and former Union Ministers, Prof. P. J. Kurien, Mr. Mullapally Ramachandran and Mr. K. P. Unnikrishnan, the Tourism Minister of Kerala, Prof. K. V. Thomas, the Health Minister, Mr. P. Sankaran, and the Forest Minister, Mr. K. Sudhakaran. The other prominent personalities who figure in the list are Mr. Tom Vaddakan, secretary of the AICC media department, and Mr. V. M. Sudheeran and Mr V. S. Sivakumar, MPs.

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Section  : Southern States
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