THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Close on the heels of the BJP state leadership facing heavy flak from various district committees during the election assessment meetings, dissident factions in the state unit have raised serious complaints in connection with disbursal of election funds and deployment of cadre for campaigning in the just-concluded assembly elections.
The dissident factions, led by national executive members P K Krishnadas and Sobha Surendran, have reportedly taken up the matter with the RSS top brass and are also awaiting a ‘corrective action’ by the BJP central leadership in the wake of the party’s dismal show in the elections. Central funding for the elections was decided on the basis of the classification of constituencies into A+, A, B and C categories.
“While a few A+ constituencies received the highest funding, some in the same category were given less than half the amount. In B class constituencies, candidates loyal to the official faction were given five times the funds than what the other candidates received,” said a top party source.
Sources in the dissident camp say they had suggested to the state leadership to appoint organisers, coordinators and full-time workers in 10 constituencies where the party had the highest chances of wining. However, their pleas fell on deaf ears. The official faction was against deploying cadre from outside the constituency, saying it would affect the party’s prospects in other seats.
“Had the state leadership focused its entire efforts on the top 10 constituencies in bypoll mode and entrusted the charge of other constituencies to the respective district units, the party could have surely staged a win in most of them,” said a former state president. The central leadership is learnt to have arrived at a preliminary assessment that there were serious flaws ranging from election strategy to the selection of campaign issues.
What irked them?
Uneven disbursal of poll funds
Improper deployment of cadre
State leadership’s failure to focus on key seats