MALAPPURAM: Factional equations within the Congress came into sharp focus at a reception organised for the party’s MLAs in Malappuram, with three legislators pointedly choosing to highlight AICC general secretary K C Venugopal while making no reference to CM V D Satheesan. The reception, organised by the Malappuram DCC and inaugurated by Venugopal, saw Minister A P Anilkumar, Nilambur MLA Aryadan Shoukath and Tavanur MLA V S Joy underline Venugopal’s role in the Congress’ electoral performance. Significantly, none of the three referred to the political or organisational achievements of VD Satheesan-led Opposition in their speeches.
Aryadan Shoukath publicly credited Venugopal with giving him the opportunity to contest the election, while Joy delivered an elaborate tribute to him. Describing Venugopal as the “lance-headed leader of the anti-fascist struggle in Indian politics”, Joy credited him with taking on the prime minister and Union home minister in Parliament and turning the streets of Malappuram into a political battleground.
Joy also praised Venugopal for ensuring a 100% victory for the Democratic Front during the largest session in Parliament’s history and highlighted his subsequent return to Kerala as the AICC general secretary in charge of organisational affairs. Minister Anilkumar too positioned Venugopal as Kerala’s major contribution to the Congress movement at the national level and praised his leadership.
The omission of Satheesan from all three speeches assumed significance, particularly against the backdrop of the factional alignments within the state Congress.