Former Union minister Mullappally Ramachandran was on Wednesday appointed the head of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee. The Lok Sabha MP from Vadakara will replace MM Hassan who held the post for one and a half years.

K Sudhakaran, MI Shanavas and Kodikunnil Suresh were appointed working presidents, and K Muraleedharan was made the chairman of campaign committee for its Kerala unit.

Leader of Opposition in the Kerala Assembly Ramesh Chennithala said Ramachandran’s appointment would help the party gain strength ahead of the Lok Sabha elections next year. The party’s former Kerala unit president, VM Sudheeran, also welcomed the new appointments and said the new team was “seasoned and experienced”.

“I wholeheartedly take the challenge to register an impressive win for the party in the forthcoming Lok Sabha election,” Ramachandran told The Times of India.