THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Much to the relief of factional leaders, Congress president Sonia Gandhi has sought a report from the national general secretary in charge of the state, Tariq Anwar, following their complaints on the draft list of District Congress Committee (DCC) presidents. That led him to holding telephonic conversations with senior leaders Oommen Chandy and Ramesh Chennithala on Thursday evening.But the Congress state leadership is unperturbed by the development as they are confident the draft list they had submitted will not be altered without consulting them.
When K Sudhakaran and V D Satheesan took over the mantle of the Congress leadership in Kerala, the central leadership was hoping to see a generation shift happening smoothly. As things did not pan out as expected, Tariq Anwar had a lot to do as an intermediary, aware that group managers will not sit idle. On the other hand, state president Sudhakaran and Opposition Leader Satheesan have been going about with the mandate given to them by Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, never to yield before the pressure tactics of the factions. Now the ploy of the groups is to convey the message that the party still revolves around their clout, which the state leadership wants to prove wrong.
A top Congress leader told TNIE that the state leadership is not going to move an inch or else they will be relegated to “puppets” before the group leaders and their managers.“The Congress state leadership had held elaborate consultations with both Oommen Chandy and Ramesh Chennithala. They had given two lists that included their respective loyalists alone. But the state leadership has chosen only the meritorious among them. Sudhakaran and Satheesan will not yield to the pressure tactics as they have the backing of the Congress High Command,” said the Congress leader on condition of anonymity.
Both Chandy and Chennithala are peeved with the way they have been sidelined by Sudhakaran, as he did not keep his promise to have a final round of talks before submitting the draft list of DCC leaders. A senior group manager said the duo is irked that after being in the party for more than four decades, they were given a raw deal.
“The change in attitude of the incumbent state leadership has peeved them. Sudhakaran was prevented from holding talks with them by certain leaders. Had they been consulted, these leaders could have come up with a better list of DCC leaders. The Congress High Command should come out with a message that all leaders are working united,” said a senior group manager.