Amid reports of leadership change, KPCC chief asserts he will continue in his position

Amid reports that the Congress high command is seriously considering a leadership change in the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC), the incumbent president, K Sudhakaran, has declared that he would not step down from his position.

Speaking to a Malayalam news channel on Sunday, the current Congress chief in Kerala asserted that he would continue as the KPCC chief and would relinquish his position only after the Left government is ousted from power.

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“I will step down as the KPCC president only after throwing the LDF out of power. This is my way of doing politics. I have already communicated this to the party leadership,” Sudhakaran said.

Sudhakaran said he has nothing to comment on the names being mentioned for the post of the KPCC president, adding that he has the approval of the people and Congress workers.

The Kerala Congress chief said he had met and held detailed discussions with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and party leader Rahul Gandhi on Kerala politics. “There were no discussions about removing me. If they wanted to remove me from the post, they wouldn’t have met me. Rahul Gandhi greeted me with a hug,” he said.

The KPCC chief also dismissed reports about his health issues. “I am not suffering from any ailment,” he said, and accused the media of spreading false information about leadership change and his health condition.

There have been reports that the Congress High Command is planning to appoint a new KPCC president before the Nilambur bypoll and that four-time Pathanamthitta MP Anto Antony and incumbent president K Sudhakaran’s confidant Sunny Joseph, MLA, have emerged as frontrunners.

Meanwhile, former KPCC president K Muraleedharan said there is no need for a change in leadership now. “No one has demanded the KPCC president’s removal. I am of the opinion that a change in leadership is not good for the party right now,” Muraleedharan said.

“Sudhakaran does not have any health problems. Many people have their own interests, but the party’s interest lies in winning the next election,” he added.

CWC member and Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor backed Sudhakaran’s continuation as the KPCC chief, stating that there was no need for a leadership change at this juncture.

With the incumbent president’s assertion that he would continue in his position, the call for leadership change in KPCC is facing a crisis. Sudhakaran’s statement that no one has asked him to step down from the KPCC president’s post is causing a headache for the Congress leadership.

The upcoming local body and assembly elections in Kerala are crucial for the Congress. The party has not been in power in the state for the past nine years. If it remains out of power for another term, its very existence could be in jeopardy. There is a general suggestion to appoint someone from the Christian community as the new KPCC president.