Congress names Chennithala chairman, Tharoor co-chairman of campaign committee for Kerala polls

The Congress on Thursday set up two key panels for the upcoming Kerala Assembly polls, with Ramesh Chennithala and Shashi Tharoor appointed chairman and co-chairman, respectively, of the party's campaign committee. Tharoor's appointment assumes significance as it comes days after he met Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and former party chief Rahul Gandhi for redressal of his grievances, after which he said ''all is good'' and ''we are all on the same page''. Since then, Tharoor has been seen speaking prominently for the Congress, and also initiated the discussion on the Union Budget in the Lok Sabha. Congress president Kharge has approved the proposal for the constitution of the campaign committee and the manifesto committee of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee for the upcoming Assembly elections, a party statement said. While Chennithala has been named the chairman of the campaign committee, Tharoor has been appointed its co-chairman. Congress MP Shafi Parambil will be the convenor of the campaign committee with Hibi Eden, Roji M John, C R Mahesh, Mathew Kuzhalnadan, Ramya Haridas, M Liju and Deepthi Mary Varghese as members. Congress MP Benny Behanan will be the chairman of the manifesto committee, with the party's chief whip in the Lok Sabha, Kodikkunnil Suresh, as its co-chairman. The manifesto committee will have Dean Kuriakose and Jebi Mather as members. After meeting Kharge and Gandhi earlier this month, Tharoor said that he was very satisfied with his meeting with the top Congress brass. Sources said it was a ''comprehensive'' meeting covering a wide array of subjects. Tharoor had been upset over the treatment meted out to him at a Kochi event recently, and attempts by some leaders to 'sideline' him in Kerala. However, his issues appear to have been redressed and he is expected to play a key role in the party's campaigning for the Kerala polls. The Kerala polls are crucial for the Congress as it seeks to wrest power from the Left after 10 years in the opposition, and the party is going all out to secure a victory in the southern state. The elections are expected in April-May.