Making her first trip to the party-led UDF ruled state after the Lok Sabha elections, Congress President Sonia Gandhi will be addressing a special convention of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) in Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday.
It is also significant that the AICC chief is coming to Kerala at a time when the state unit of the party has set in motion a comprehensive organisational revamp exercise which began yesterday with the formation of booth-level committees across the length and breadth of the state.
Gandhi will also inaugurate the 16th anniversary of the women empowerment scheme 'Kudumbashree' in the city before leaving for Bangalore in the afternoon. Though she will be spending only a few hours in the Kerala capital, the Congress chief is expected to have brief discussions on the party affairs with senior leaders including Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and KPCC President VM Sudheeran, party officials said.
Addressing a press meet, Sudheeran said the beginning of the organisational revamp exercise turned out to be a "big success" with functionaries getting chosen, mostly through consensus, in a majority of over 21,000 booth committees.
"Merit and track record of serving the party have been the prime criteria for choosing the office bearers rather than apportioning posts on the group-basis," he said. Apart from Sudheeran, Chandy, Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala, and former PCC chiefs and other leaders participated in the process in their respective home units.
The guidelines issued by the KPCC also asked party workers and leaders to guard against the persons with criminal background getting into the party committees and suggested them to prefer new faces in place of those who had been holding positions "far too long" while ensuring due representation for youth and women. This is the first time after 1992 that such a major exercise was being held in 21,458 booths across the state.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}