Thiruvananthapuram: The Congress Working Committee member Veerappa Moily who on Tuesday began discussions on the much-delayed reconstitution of the party in the State was flooded with conflicting demands by various sections of Congressmen.

All sections are united on the need for a reconstitution of the party, but they differ on the formula to be adopted.

Mr. Moily arrived here in the afternoon and straightaway began discussions. He met senior leaders individually and collectively, topping it with a late evening joint meeting with Leader of the Opposition Oommen Chandy and Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president Ramesh Chennithala. Talking to The Hindu , Mr. Moily said his main agenda was to discuss the revamp of the District Congress Committee (DCC) presidents.

Hearing to continue

The senior Congress leader heard the divergent views expressed by party leaders on the revamp process and would continue it on Wednesday before leaving for New Delhi.

The discussion is being held on the basis of the P.P. George Committee report which has suggested revamp of the DCC presidents. One section is of the view that changing the DCC presidents alone will not help revive the party and that a comprehensive change is needed. According to these leaders, the DCC revamp should be linked to changes at the KPCC level. One issue that has been in the air is with regard to reducing the number of KPCC general secretaries. However, a senior leader said the KPCC, the DCC, and block and mandalam committees had been reconstituted along with a new KPCC executive in 2005. But the change in DCC presidents was deferred owing to several reasons prevailing at that time. Therefore the current exercise needs focus only on changing the DCC presidents.

`I' group demand

Former "I" group representatives want adequate accommodation in the revamp. They have demanded that their nominee be considered for either the Kerala Students Union or Youth Congress president. Going by the demands made by various sections, it has become clear that the Congress high command will have to take a tough decision. Mr. Chennithala and Mr. Chandy are expected to be in New Delhi next week for further discussions before finalising the list. The party has not been able to complete the revamp process because of the pulls and counter-pulls from various sections in the party.

Difficult task

The Congress leadership will now have to work out a formula that is equitable, accommodating all sections. Since the Congress is out of power in the State, the leadership has to find suitable slots for leaders at various levels within the party's State unit. This is a difficult task as there are a large number of leaders awaiting proper recognition.

The Congress high command will have to reckon separately the claims of former K. Karunakaran supporters who stood with the party or returned home at a later stage. But while carrying out the revamp process, the party high command will have to take care not to upset the current leadership under Mr. Chennithala and Mr. Chandy, sources in the party said.

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