T’PURAM/KOCHI: A day after the UDF suffered a stunning setback in the local body polls, a clamour for change of leadership rocked the Congress camp on Thursday. While the outburst of a few senior leaders in public, with the state assembly elections only months away, should have surprised even the CPM-led ruling front, the high command tried to defuse the tension by ruling out a change at the top and asking o n l y f o r “ corrective measures”.
“Deliberations have to be initiated on why the Jose K Mani faction had to leave the UDF. There should not have been any confusion on the local-level adjustments with the Welfare Party of India (WPI). But the current imbroglio does not warrant a leadership change,” AICC general secretary K C Venugopal told reporters in New Delhi. The members of the Political Affairs Committee (PAC), which huddled together at Indira Bhavan for close to six hours on Thursday, unleashed a tirade on the KPCC leadership for coming out with confusing and conflicting statements on the WPI.
The PAC swung into action and chalked out a set of cor rect ive measures. KPCC general secretaries and secretaries have been summoned to the capital on Saturday to deliberate further on the measures. Meetings will also be held at the constituency and block levels to take stock of the poll debacle.
Earlier, taking a cue from former KPCC chief K Muraleedharan’s outburst demanding a “surgery” in state Congress, two fellow MPs representing northern constituencies, K Sudhakaran and Rajmohan Unnithan, lashed out at the leadership. Sudhakaran, who had eyed the KPCC president post, called for accountability. “People have no trust in the leadership and a change is inevitable. The top brass does not have any commanding power over the party’s rank and file,” said Sudhakaran.
‘Congress top brass only wants sycophants’
“A complete party restructuring must be done ahead of the assembly election because the party does not have the organisational structure to take on the LDF and the NDA,” said Sudhakaran.Unnithan enjoys a rapport with KPCC president Mullappally Ramachandran, but that did not stop him from blaming him for the party’s dismal performance.
He said the leadership only wanted sycophants and he would speak out the truth even if the party expels him. The Kasaragod MP did not spare UDF convener M M Hassan either, over his controversial comments on the scrapping of Life Mission project if the UDF returns to power which according to him was taken unilaterally, without discussing it in the party and in the front.
Veteran leader P J Kurien said the party has been granting posts based on group equations and not on merit, which has distanced the minorities. “Though Congress is not a cadre-based party, it drew its strength from the committees at the grass-root level. However, there are no such committees now and this has weakened the party and severed the people connect. This disconnect with the people led to the poll debacle.
The leadership has failed to exploit the favourable political atmosphere and turn the tide in our favour,” he said.Discontent was growing among some of the senior leaders against Mullappally but now, both Chennithala and Chandy are also feeling the heat. The onus is on the trio to stay together and perform the rescue act.
Muslim League blames Congress
Muslim League has blamed Congress for the poll defeat. “The public squabbling of Congress leaders has tarnished the image of the UDF and the alliance with the Welfare Party adversely affected it,” said P K Kunhalikutty, MP.
BJP to take stock of poll performance
A meeting of the BJP’s core group — the highest decisionmaking body of the party at the state level — will be held, likely on Saturday, to take stock of the local body election results which offered the party a mixed bag.
CM writes to PM on agencies’ inquiries
Conveying his displeasure about the national probe agencies, CM Pinarayi Vijayan alleged in a letter to PM Narendra Modi that orchestrated campaigns were being launched to defame the state’s political leadership.