THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Attempts to quell the factional feud in the BJP state unit have hit a roadblock after dissident leaders led by Sobha Surendran failed to get a favourable response from the party leadership.
The dissidents had demanded that leaders who have been sidelined in the state unit reorganisation and also downgraded be given befitting posts in the party.
The infighting has made candidate selection for the local body elections a headache for BJP in many districts. Barring a few local bodies such as the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation, BJP has been unable to release the candidate lists in several districts.
It was earlier announced that the process would be completed by November 5. However, the BJP core committee has not been able to meet even once since the crisis began, as the RSS had directed that the key meeting be held after resolving the present imbroglio.
Union Minister V Muraleedharan had tried to reach out to the dissident leaders but they stuck to their initial stance, aggravating the crisis. Meanwhile, it was pointed out that a large number of leaders, though inducted in the state unit, have not been given charge of various districts.
“The task of such leaders has been confined more or less to delivering the valedictory speech at district-level party meetings and nothing else,” said a leader close to the Sobha faction.
A STATE general secretary who preferred anonymity said BJP has set a target of winning a minimum of 7,000 wards in the upcoming panchayat elections. However, it knows the target can be realised only if dissident leaders are taken into confidence and the party functions as a single unit, the leader said. Though stern warnings such as expulsion from BJP have been indirectly issued to the Sobha Surendran camp, the dissident leaders have stuck to their stance as it’s a do-or-die situation for them.