THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The AICC leadership has been unhappy with the KPCC leadership for the inordinate delay in submitting the list of probable DCC presidents, despite the AICC delegation camping in the state for more than two weeks.The three new senior AICC observers, Chief Minister of Rajasthan Ashok Gehlot, former chief minister of Goa, Luizinho Falerio and former deputy chief minister of Karnataka, Dr G Parameswara will be arriving in Thiruvananthapuram on January 22-23 for overseeing Election Campaign Management and Coordination in the state.
Now all eyes are on Congress president Sonia Gandhi after Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala has already left for New Delhi. KPCC president Mullappally Ramachandran and CWC member Oommen Chandy will be flying on Sunday for the crucial talks with Sonia Gandhi on Monday.
She has also summoned the three AICC secretaries to New Delhi on Monday to get a first-hand report in the presence of the three top Kerala leaders. AICC organising general secretary K C Venugopal and general secretary in-charge of the state, Tariq Anwar, will also be huddled with the leaders. The three AICC observers will also be touring the state during their two-day stint here. A large section of Congress leaders are hoping that Sonia Gandhi will not toe the line of the group leaders if the UDF has to put up a fight in the Assembly elections.
“The CPM is going to field young and vibrant candidates who’re between 30-40 years in the Assembly election. If the Congress keeps entertaining group interests and old hands, then they can sit permanently in the Opposition. The AICC leadership has realised this and it has decided to take proactive steps after the Congress leaders failed to emerge victorious in the 2016 Assembly elections and in the recent civic body elections. Sonia Gandhi is expected to give a set of guidelines and will ask the KPCC leaders to work accordingly”, a senior Congress MP told TNIE.
If during the last Assembly elections, shortage of election funds was a ‘vexatious’ issue, this time Sonia Gandhi has told Kerala leaders that she will ensure that all the 90 Congress candidates in the fray get adequate funds. This was the same issue the Congress candidates had experienced in the civic body elections too which resulted in a major poll debacle.