Political Affairs Committee members resent delay in revamping Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee

A KPCC Political Affairs Committee (PAC) meeting under way at Indira Bhavan in Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement Dismay over the delay in the Congress high command initiating a rejig of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) and the District Congress Committees (DCCs) was evident at the KPCC Political Affairs Committee (PAC) meeting held at Indira Bhavan on Thursday. In the first meeting of the PAC after the new government took over, members almost unanimously demanded that the high command take urgent steps to revamp the organisation, which has been in a state of inertia ever since the Congress-led government came to power in Keralam. “The KPCC president has almost relinquished his role as he is preoccupied with heading the Electricity Ministry. Three months after he volunteered to step down as president of the party in the State, the central leadership has yet to act. The high command swiftly appointed full-time office-bearers in States like Karnataka and Tamil Nadu when the need arose. Apart from Sunny Joseph, the KPCC president, two of the working presidents are also Ministers in Keralam. It is no different at the DCC level either, with as many as five DCC presidents functioning as legislators,” said a leader after the meeting, which was also attended by AICC general secretary in-charge of Keralam Deepa Dasmunsi. Another leader rued that while the government made an “impressive” beginning by clearing all welfare pension arrears, organising the Onam festivities rather well and launching an anti-narcotics crackdown through Operation Toofan, the party has not been able to hold a meeting to discuss ways to take its achievements to the people. “A reluctant president is a burden on the party. The interface with the government is therefore lost for the people,” he added. On PM-SHRIThe meeting also saw Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan explain why the government constituted a three-member Cabinet subcommittee to study the feasibility of going ahead with the PM-SHRI scheme. While it would be impossible to withdraw from the MoU signed by the previous government with the Centre, if the government chose to go ahead, it would ensure that the authority to frame the curriculum and decide the schools to be included in the scheme would rest with the State, he reportedly told the PAC members. There would also be discussions within the party before drafting the government’s liquor policy. On the question of apportioning the administration of boards and corporations among constituents of the UDF, Mr. Satheesan reportedly said the party could stipulate criteria for the selection of appointees to the corporations allocated to it. “The CM and the PCC president will finalise the leaders to be appointed,” said a PAC member, adding that a decision on the sharing of boards and corporations would be taken by September 15. Mr. Joseph told the media that the Leader of the Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan’s speeches at Taliparamba and Payyannur — CPI(M) strongholds wrested by UDF-backed CPI(M) rebels — were anti-democratic and intimidating. He urged the CPI(M) general secretary to explain the divergent stances taken by Mr. Vijayan and the party’s central leadership on what led to the Left’s defeat in the elections. Published - September 03, 2026 09:28 pm IST