Kodagu DCC opens up for changes

Significant changes have been ushered in the rank and file of the district Congress party.

A week ago, the party high command had appointed Surayya Abrar as the president of the district Congress women’s wing. Now, K Manjunath has been appointed as the new president of the District Congress Committee.

Following the defeat of the Congress candidates in Madikeri and Virajpet constituencies during the 2018 Assembly elections, there had been a demand from the party workers to strengthen the party base in the district by reshuffling the top leadership. The demand was made in order to draw excellent results in the Parliamentary elections.

As Kodagu has been a strong base of the BJP, the Congress party high command has bowed before the demand and carried out major changes.

Replacement

District Congress Committee president Shivu Madappa has been replaced by K Manjunath. Shivu, a sitting members from the Kuttu seat in Kodagu Zilla Panchayat, had been appointed the District Congress Committee president before the Assembly elections were announced. Although his term as the DCC chief was set to end in 2020, Shivu has been forced to step down, sources said.

The newly appointed president K Manjunath hails from Kudluru village near Kushalnagar. He earlier served in the Education Department and in various capacities in the teachers’ association. He took voluntary retirement from government service in 2012 to join the Congress party, in which his family members had been actively involved for many years.

New president

Manjunath had also served as a personal assistant to former Zilla Panchayat president K P Chandrakala. Manjunath unsuccessfully contested the MLC elections twice from the teachers’ constituency. He also earlier contested as an independent candidate and later on Congress ticket in 2018.

In spite of a chequered career in politics, he has been selected by the Congress party high command as DCC president in appreciation of his active involvement in the party, sources in the Congress said.

Manjunath, when contacted, said that his immediate priority was to organise the party members from the booth-level. He would strive to ensure victory for the Congress candidate contesting the Parliamentary elections, Manjunath added.