Correction process begins, 5 BJP district presidents sacked

Thiruvananthapuram: Setting in motion a major organizational rejig in the state BJP unit after the rout in the recently-held assembly polls, the party state president K Surendran, on Tuesday, sacked five district presidents and made some cosmetic changes in the state committee.
Party presidents of Kasaragod, Wayanad, Palakkad, Kottayam and Pathanamthitta were removed from their seats. Following the state-wide exercise by the party to identify the organizational troubles that marred the party’s prospects in the last assembly election, certain organizational changes were widely expected. The changes, though not drastic, reaffirm the trust BJP national leadership has on Surendran.
The new district presidents are VA Sooraj (Pathanamthitta), G Lijin Lal (Kottayam), KM Haridas (Palakkad), KP Madhu (Wayanad) and Ravisha Thantri (Kasaragod). As part of the shuffle, party spokesperson B Gopalakrishnan, party’s former secretary Sivankutty and P Raghunath were appointed as new vice-presidents.
Former district president of Kasaragod K Sreekanth, former Congress leader Pandalam Prathapan who recently joined the party, former state treasurer JR Padmakumar and Mahila Morcha leader Renu Suresh were appointed as new state secretaries.
Actor G Krishnakumar, G Raman Nair, G Gireesan and MS Sampoorna have been nominated to the party national executive. Meanwhile, KVS Haridas, Sandeep Vachaspati and TP Sindhumol were appointed the new spokespersons. Jayaraj Kaimal will be the new state office secretary.
A reshuffle in the lower level is also expected. All mandalam committees would be bifurcated and there would be a renewed effort to ensure discipline in the party, said sources close to Surendran. The central leadership, they said, has given Surendran a mandate to ensure strict discipline in the state unit.