New Delhi, February 12 The Congress on Thursday formed two key panels for the upcoming Kerala Assembly elections, with Ramesh Chennithala and Shashi Tharoor appointed as chairman and co-chairman, respectively, of the party's campaign committee.
Tharoor's appointment is significant as it comes days after he met Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and former party chief Rahul Gandhi to address his concerns, after which he said "everything is fine" and "we are all on the same page".
Since then, Tharoor has been actively representing the Congress and has also initiated discussions on the Union Budget in the Lok Sabha.
Congress president Kharge has approved the proposal for the formation 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 leadership.
Sources said that the meeting was "comprehensive" and covered a wide range of topics.
Tharoor had been upset over the treatment he received at a Kochi event recently, and attempts by some leaders to "exclude" him in Kerala.
However, his issues appear to have been resolved, 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 regain power from the Left after 10 years in opposition, and the party is making a concerted effort to secure victory in the southern state.
The elections are expected in April-May.