Congress rejigs Kerala unit with eye of 2026 polls, appoints Sunny Joseph as its chief

New Delhi | The Congress initiated organisational changes in its Kerala unit by appointing Sunny Joseph as the chief in place of K Sudhakaran and naming three new working presidents on Thursday.

Joseph, a legislator in the Kerala Assembly, will lead the state unit of the grand old party in next year's assembly polls. He will supported by newly appointed working presidents P C Vishnunadh and A P Anil Kumar and Shafi Parambil.

While Vishnunadh and Kumar are MLAs, Parambil is an MP.

Besides the four, Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge also appointed Adoor Prakash, a party MP, as the convener of the United Democratic Front alliance in the state.

The appointments have been made with an eye on the 2026 state polls with the tenure of the current assembly ending on May 23, next year.

"The Congress president has appointed the president and working presidents of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC), and also approved the proposal of the appointment of the convenor of the UDF, with immediate effect.

"The new president of KPCC will be Sunny Joseph, MLA, and the convenor of the UDF will be Adoor Prakash, MP. The new working presidents of the KPCC are P C Vishnunadh, MLA, A P Anil Kumar, MLA and Shafi Parambil, MP," a statement from AICC general secretary K C Venugopal said.

In the statement, the party appreciated the contributions of the outgoing Kerala unit chief K. Sudhakaran, MP and that of the UDF convenor M M Hassan.

"The party also conveys its appreciation for the contributions of the outgoing working presidents of the KPCC, Kodikkunnil Suresh, MP, T N Prathapan, and T. Siddique, MLA," he also said in the statement.

P C Vishnunadh, MLA, is being relieved of his current responsibilities as AICC Secretary, the party also said in its statement.

In another statement, Venugopal said the Congress president has appointed K Sudhakaran, and Akhilesh Prasad Singh, both MPs, as permanent invitees to the Congress Working Committee with immediate effect.

Akhilesh Prasad Singh was recently replaced as Bihar Congress chief.

Congress rejig in Kerala ends uncertainty, balances equations in party

Thiruvananthapuram | Ending weeks of uncertainty over a change of guard in the Congress party in Kerala, the AICC on Thursday has gone for a complete overhaul of the leadership in the state, by replacing K Sudhakaran MP with three-time MLA Sunny Joseph.

The party also appointed three new working presidents for the state-- P C Vishnunath, A P Anil Kumar and Shafi Parambil, while Adoor Prakash was named as the new convenor of the Opposition United Democratic Front (UDF) in place of M M Hassan.

The long-awaited reshuffle in the party leadership comes ahead of the local body elections to be held later this year and the assembly elections due in mid-2026.

Though Sudhakaran had expressed his disapproval against the moves to remove him from the KPCC post, the party high command had taken the decision to bring in a new face ahead of 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 in the party unit in Kerala.

The names of two Christian leaders including Sunny Joseph were being considered for the KPCC chief’s post as the party feared that the Christian community, which had always been supportive of the Congress-led Front in the past, was drifting away from UDF of late.

Sunny Joseph, MLA from Peravoor in Kannur district, who has been assigned to lead the party in the next assembly polls, told reporters that he has no ‘personal agenda’ but will effectively work together with top leaders and district Congress committees to ensure victory for the UDF in the next elections.

Thanking the AICC leadership for choosing him for the top job in the state party, Joseph said as an ordinary worker, he considers it not as a ‘post or position,’ but a responsibility handed to him by the party high command.

Joseph said the Congress party’s main objective is to return to power in the state and he will do his duty for that end.

“It is the collective opinion of the people that Congress should return to power, which was reflected in the results of the last Parliament elections,” he said.

Joseph said he will ensure unity within the party by working closely with senior leaders, and the new working presidents and the UDF convener to ensure victory for the party in the next elections.

Sunny Joseph has been representing Peravoor assembly constituency in Kannur since 2011.

Among the new working presidents, Shafi Parambil represents Vatakara (Kozhikode) in the Lok Sabha, while A P Anil Kumar and P C Vishnunath are MLAs from Wandoor (Malappuram) and Kundara (Kollam) respectively.

The new UDF convener Adoor Prakash is MP from Attingal constituency in Thiruvananthapuram district.

The appointments were made by AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge earlier in the day.