Congress party flags (image for representation only)
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The All India Congress Committee (AICC) has summoned top party leaders from Kerala for a brainstorming session in New Delhi on Tuesday (May 13, 2025) to prepare a roadmap to put the organisation in “good election-fighting order” ahead of the 2025 local body polls and the 2026 Assembly elections in Kerala.
AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, will chair the meeting of the newly appointed Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) office-bearers at 4.30 p.m.
V.D. Satheesan, Leader of the Opposition in Kerala, told The Hindu that the meeting would focus on restructuring the party apparatus from the District Congress Committee (DCC)-level and upwards.
He said the meeting would discuss the KPCC’s blueprint for further reorganisation. “The KPCC hopes to conclude the process by August-end, at least three months ahead of the local body polls,” he said.
At present, the Congress in Kerala has 32 general secretaries. Congress sources hinted that there might be replacements, new faces and perhaps more office-bearers with varied responsibilities. The KPCC would revamp DCCs, including appointing new presidents and office-bearers. They said the KPCC’s vice-presidential and treasure post might see changes.
A party insider said the reorganisation would trend towards the younger demographic. However, organising skills, including marshalling different social and religious groups and traction with local and State-level opinion leaders and spiritual figureheads, would matter. “Ideally, the AICC want voters to view DCC office-bearers as personal and accessible public symbols who can find easy fixes for issues affecting the community”, he said.
Social engineering
Congress sources privy to the party’s latent blueprint, “pending AICC’s approval,” said the party document emphasised ‘social engineering at the grassroots level’ to unify different caste and religious groups under the United Democratic Front’s (UDF) banner.
The Congress has reportedly identified the rise of identity politics as a threat to its electoral prospects. According to party insiders, the Congress sensed the perceived shift could offer the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) a springboard for its electoral ambitions at a significant cost, primarily to the United Democratic Front (UDF).
Hence, party insiders said the KPCC focussed on creating a rainbow of Congress leaders from different religions, castes, sub-castes, and demographics to stem the shift away from broad-based party politics.
“Such a matrix of collective leadership will hopefully allow the Congress to influence diverse people across social and religious divides and at all levels, from the grassroots and upwards”, another senior leader said.
The KPCC has asked its top office-bearers to tour districts and settle the party’s factional issues at the local level. They would also spearhead voters’ enrolment drive, registration of new voters and the party’s knock-on-doors campaign.
Published – May 13, 2025 11:42 am IST
