THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Senior Congress leader and former Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, Mullappally Ramachandran is tipped to become the next KPCC president. Highly placed sources in the party told Express, after the senior leaders’ meeting with the Congress president in Delhi on June 6 and 7, it is almost certain that Mullappally will become the state president. V D Satheeshan MLA and Kodikunnil Suresh MP are the other names in the reckoning. Rahul Gandhi, it is learnt, has already called upon the state leaders not to bring a list to Delhi based on group considerations and that the discussion in the capital will be open.
This is a clear indication that Mullappally - who has no group affiliations in the party and has conducted the party organisational elections commendably as the chairman of the Central Election Authority of Indian National Congress - will be the person to don the mantle. Sources also pointed out that Sonia Gandhi has, in the Congress Working Committee, appreciated the hard work put in by Mullappally in conducting an unblemished organisational elections.
He has a clean image of a leader with zero corruption and has the advantage of being from the backward class Ezhava community, a powerful community with bargaining powers in Kerala politics. Sources said that, all the Congress MPs from Kerala - except Kodikunnil Suresh and K V Thomas who themselves are contenders for the seat - have supported Mullappally.
Meanwhile, the inner squabbles unleashed by the party’s young turks have reached a different level with senior leaders, including Oommen Chandy, Vayalar Ravi, K Sankaranarayanan and P J Kurien, coming out against the young brigade. Kurien has already gone on record that he had toiled hard in the grass roots for 20 years to come to the top of the party hierarchy and become a parliamentarian, and that these leaders could not do anything substantial in either the Youth Congress or KSU during their stints.
Sources also indicated that the Congress High Command is finalising its call on the renomination of P J Kurien to Rajya Sabha. Should the party claim the Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman’s post, given his vast experience among political leaders cutting across party lines, Kurien - the incumbent - will be the only choice.
The High Command is also against the open criticism levelled against Kurien by the young brigade. Sources hinted that the central leadership is of the view that Kurien - without any group affiliations - was targeted by the youth leaders who have clear group leanings.It is pretty much certain that K Muraleedharan MLA will become the next UDF convenor, with the excellent rapport he enjoys with the UDF constituents giving him an advantage.