Thiruvananthapuram: Former senior Congress leader P C  Chacko was on Wednesday appointed as the National Congress Party NCP's new Kerala President by party supremo Sharad Pawar.

A press statement issued by party General Secretary and former Union Minister Praful Patel, said PC Chacko, 74, has been asked to assume office immediately. He replaces veteran T P Peethamabaran, who has been heading the NCP's Kerala unit for some time now.

Chacko in March announced his decision to quit the Congress, stating that it is difficult to be a party leader in Kerala as it is in the grips of faction leaders. In his heyday in state politics, Chacko was close to A.K. Antony and Oommen Chandy.

When these leaders split from the Congress soon after the Emergency period, he went with them and won his only state Assembly elections in the 1980 polls when the Antony-Chandy combine was an ally of the then CPI-M led political front and became Industries Minister in the E.K. Nayanar cabinet.

In the 2014 polls, Chacko using his influence with the party high command, swapped his Thrissur seat with Chalakudy MP Dhanapalan, who accepted the decision with much reluctance. In the end, the Congress ended up losing both seats.

Chacko, due to his long stints in Delhi, had practically little following in Kerala and since his 2014 loss, he lost his grip in Delhi and even though he was put in a few committees in the party in Kerala, he found the going tough and called it a day to return to his old leader Pawar, who has instantly rewarded him with the top state post.

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