Kerala govt appoints expelled Congress leader K V Thomas as its special representative

The CPI(M)-led LDF government in Kerala on Thursday decided to appoint expelled Congress leader and former union minister K V Thomas as its special representative in New Delhi with cabinet rank. A cabinet meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, took the significant decision seven months after he was sacked by the grand old party for his alleged anti-party activities.

The Congress had taken the extreme step against Thomas soon after the veteran shared the stage with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, also a senior CPI(M) leader, in a by-poll meeting of the Left party-led front in Kochi in May 2022.

The ex-AICC member, who had been at loggerheads with the party's state leadership, had campaigned for ruling LDF candidate Jo Joseph in the significant Thrikkakara Assembly constituency, in which the Congress candidate won with a massive majority.


"I am not a person who goes after positions...I have done several things cutting across politics in my life. Kerala's Chief Minister has now given me an opportunity to serve the people," he told reporters.

He also said he would fulfill the responsibilities entrusted with him by the LDF government.

Senior CPI(M) leader and former MP, A Sampath was the special representative of the Kerala government in New Delhi during the tenure of the previous Vijayan government.

Former diplomat Venu Rajamony had been appointed as Officer on Special Duty in the national capital by the state government in September last year.