Sunny Joseph, the three-time MLA from Peravoor, and the president of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) one of the star campaigners of Congress in Kerela. He replaced K Sudhakaran as the head of the party's Kerala unit last year.
He will oversee its organisational and electoral strategy in the state ahead of the upcoming polls on 9 April.
The move is considered politically significant as the Congress seeks to regain support from the Christian community before the state assembly elections. Votes will be counted on 4 May.
Who is Sunny Joseph?
Born on 18 August 1952, Joseph is a lawyer and a seasoned politician. He is a law graduate, having completed his LLB from Government Law College under the University of Calicut in 1978.
Born into a Syro-Malabar Catholic family, he is the son of Joseph and Rosakutty. Over the years, he has remained an active member of the Congress and has represented the Peravoor constituency in the Kerala Legislative Assembly since 2011.
He began his political career through the Kerala Students Union (KSU), the student wing of the Congress, before joining the Youth Congress. Joseph later served as the president of the Kannur District Congress Committee (DCC) and is also the Chairman of the United Democratic Front (UDF) Kannur District Committee.
As a three-time MLA from Peravoor in Kannur district, he represents a seat that has been a Congress stronghold since 1977. After senior CPM leader KK Shailaja won the seat in 2006, the Congress fielded Joseph in an attempt to reclaim the constituency in 2011.
He defeated Shailaja with 48.1 per cent of the vote, compared to her 45.1 per cent. Joseph has maintained a firm grip on the constituency since then.
