Marking the completion of a prolonged structural revamp initiated by the Kerala Congress, a reconstituted State committee of the party that met here on Tuesday appointed P.J. Joseph as its chairman.
P.C. Thomas is the working chairman while Mons Joseph, a Joseph group strong man, is the executive chairman. Joy Abraham was appointed party secretary general while T.U. Kuruvila is the chief coordinator. K. Francis George and Thomas Unniyadan are the deputy chairmen while Abraham Kalamannil is the treasurer.
Despite holding a revamp, the party has retained its hierarchical order at the State level by appointing 14 vice-chairmen, three State advisers, two senior general secretaries, besides an office general secretary.
The regional party led by Mr. Joseph had its previous organisational election in April 2018 when it was part of the Kerala Congress (M). The reorganisation exercise, set in motion two years ago following its merger with the P.C. Thomas-led Kerala Congress, was announced at a time when it seemed drifting towards yet another phase of infighting.
Addressing the media after the State committee meeting, Mr. Joseph slammed the United Democratic Front for making irresponsible statements on the need to bring back those who exited the alliance.
“It will be better for the UDF to avoid unnecessary statements, which may create a feeling that it was wooing other parties because the coalition as such is not strong enough,” he said, in an apparent reference to statements by some senior Congress leaders on the plan to bring back the KC(M), its archrival, back to the UDF fold.
Instead of wasting time on trying to win back those who left the UDF, these leaders should focus on expanding the popular base of the front, he added.
The party chairman also spoke of the plans to launch a Statewide campaign and lead various public protests in the coming days. A State-level camp of the party is slated to be held in June.
