Sunny Joseph takes charge as KPCC president, vows to end CPI(M) misrule in Kerala

Thiruvananthapuram, May 12 (PTI) Senior leader and three-time MLA Sunny Joseph on Monday took charge as the new president of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC), succeeding party strongman K Sudhakaran, at an event attended by senior leaders and workers here.

At the function held at the party headquarters, outgoing president Sudhakaran formally handed over charge of the state unit to Joseph, who pledged to end the "misrule" of the CPI(M)-led LDF government in the state.

Besides Joseph, P C Vishnunath MLA, Shafi Parambil MP, and A P Anil Kumar MLA assumed office as working presidents of the state Congress, and Adoor Prakash MP took charge as the UDF convener during the ceremony.

Several party leaders and workers gathered at the headquarters to witness the long-awaited leadership change ahead of the upcoming crucial local body polls and the state assembly election.

After assuming office, Joseph said he was taking up the post of KPCC president with great expectations.

Joseph criticised both the ruling BJP at the Centre and the CPI(M) government in the state and accused the saffron party of "trying to use" the Britishers' divide-and-rule policy in the country.

Only the Congress party can effectively counter the BJP in the country, he said, adding that the CPI(M) has no role in the fight.

"It was the Congress party that secured independence for this country... established democracy here, and protected secularism. It was the Congress that had carved out post-independent India," he said.

Those who are trying to divide the people and destroy the unity of the country should understand that, he said, adding that as long as the Congress exists, no one will be allowed to harm the country's freedom, secularism, and democracy.

Many of the parties in the third front, which the CPI(M) has pointed out as an alternative to the Congress, are with the BJP now, Joseph further said, adding that only the Congress can lead a secular India.

Hailing from northern Kannur district, the leader said his goal is to bring down the CPI(M) and the party-led LDF government in the state, which has adopted "corruption and violence as their path." Making it clear that he would like to adopt a teamwork-oriented working style, he said the mission of the new leadership is to ensure the victory of the Congress and the UDF in the upcoming local body and assembly polls.

"We will fight unitedly to achieve this goal. The UDF government will come to power in the next Assembly elections," he said.

Hitting hard at the Pinarayi Vijayan government, Joseph vowed to bring an end to the "misrule" under the Left regime.

"CPI(M) has always been on the path of violence. It is still happening in Kannur. Corruption and mismanagement are the hallmarks of the Vijayan government," the KPCC chief charged.

That's why the CPI(M) and the LDF are reluctant to talk about the charges of financial irregularities that cropped up against Vijayan's daughter, he further alleged.

During his address, Sudhakaran said even if he is no longer the president of KPCC, he would continue to be at the forefront of the party's fight against the ruling CPI(M) in the state.

"Stepping down as KPCC chief is not an issue for me. I will continue to be at the forefront of the party with you (workers). We want to fight... we want to succeed... we want to rule. We should be able to showcase the strength of the Congress party on the administrative front," he said.

The former president also listed various achievements of the party during his tenure as KPCC chief and claimed that it was a period of achievements alone.

AICC general secretary K C Venugopal reposed faith in the new KPCC team led by Joseph.

During his address, he appealed to party leaders and workers to stand unitedly, shedding all kinds of differences.

The party would risk becoming irrelevant unless the leaders and workers are ready to set aside their selfish interests and commit to working hard, he said.

AICC general secretary (in-charge of Kerala) Deepa Das Munshi, Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan, and senior Congress leaders K Muraleedharan and M M Hassan were among those who spoke during the occasion.

Before proceeding to the KPCC headquarters, Joseph visited Congress veteran A K Antony at his residence here and sought his support and blessings for the new role.

Addressing reporters later, Antony said he has full confidence in the new team under Joseph.

He said the AICC leadership has entrusted the team with the responsibility of bringing back the Congress-led UDF into power in Kerala in the upcoming Assembly polls.

"I have complete confidence that the new team led by Joseph can fulfil their responsibility. If they can win the trust of all sections of people besides strengthening the Congress and the UDF, we can achieve a greater victory in 2026 than the party garnered in 2001," he said.

It was on May 8 that the AICC underwent a complete overhaul of the leadership in the state by replacing Sudhakaran with three-time MLA Sunny Joseph, ending weeks of uncertainty over a change of guard in the Congress party in Kerala.

Although Sudhakaran had expressed his disapproval of the move to remove him from the KPCC post, the party high command took the decision to bring in a new face ahead of the crucial elections in the state.

Sudhakaran has been made a permanent invitee to the Congress Working Committee (CWC), in a bid to balance the group equations within the party unit in Kerala. PTI LGK SSK KH