Wayanad (Kerala) | Wayanad District Congress Committee (DCC) president N D Appachan on Thursday resigned from his position amidst reported internal group conflicts in the party's local leadership, party sources said here.

The Congress accepted his resignation and appointed advocate T J Isaac as the Wayanad DCC chief. The party also nominated Appachan as the AICC co-opted member from Kerala, with immediate effect.

Earlier in the day, when the media asked about his resignation, Appachan said that he communicated his decision to the party, and it was for the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) to decide whether to accept it.

"If they accept it, I will go. If they want me to continue, let them say so," he said.

He also said he was "not very keen" on continuing as the DCC president.

On being asked the reason behind his resignation, he said he would not disclose that.

Later, the Leader of the Opposition in the state assembly, V D Satheesan, said there were several issues in the party's Wayanad unit, and Appachan took responsibility for all that and resigned from his post.

"The party will examine it and take necessary action," he said.

The developments occurred in the wake of various internal problems, including the suicides by local leaders of the Congress, N M Vijayan and Jose Nelledam, in the party.

Vijayan and his son died by suicide, reportedly over incurring huge debts for the party, while Nelledam's was being investigated for allegedly trying to implicate another local Congress leader in a criminal case.

Vijayan's daughter-in-law Padmaja had recently attempted suicide over the family financial crisis and alleged lack of assistance from the Congress.

Subsequently, the party paid around Rs 58 lakh to the bank which had seized Vijayan's property over non-payment of loans taken by him.

On Thursday, after the family got back their property papers, Vijayan's son Vijesh told reporters that the Congress fulfilled what they had agreed to do.

"The other debts that we have we will clear on our own," he added.

Padmaja said that the property papers have the value of two lives of their family.

"Had they (Congress) done this earlier when my father-in-law had requested them, our family would not have lost two lives," she said.

Vijayan and his son Jijesh died by suicide in December 2024, while Nelledam ended his life in September this year.

Appachan's resignation and his nomination as AICC Co-opted member from Kerala come two days after the party's Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi concluded her over-a-week-long constituency visit.

Congress MPs Sonia and Rahul Gandhi had also visited Wayanad recently.