THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Trouble has been brewing in the state Congress ever since the once-prominent ‘A’ and ‘I’ factions threatened not to cooperate with the organisational revamp, if their demands are not met. Both groups want the leadership to constitute a state-level scrutinising committee to finalise the names. The groups issued an ultimatum to the state leadership after they were kept in the dark on the additional 60 KPCC members who were appointed on the eve of the AICC plenary in Raipur.
The two factions became irrelevant after K Sudhakaran and V D Satheesan took up the leadership reins in May 2021. But, the respective group managers still try to run the show, despite having no clout. It is reliably learnt that Ramesh Chennithala is waiting for the opportune moment — probably after the announcement of the 35-member Congress Working Committee (CWC) — to react against the current state leadership.
At a meeting to commemorate former speaker G Karthikeyan on Thursday, Chennithala bared his mind with a tinge of sadness. “Along with the people, the political milieu has also undergone a change. Those leaders who I handheld are now turning their backs on me. The mutual trust and camaraderie among leaders have become a thing of the past,” said Chennithala.
Now, the state leadership has asked district Congress committees (DCCs) to send a panel of names to Sudhakaran. Accordingly, he will constitute the block presidents and district committees. But this has not gone down well with the two factions. A prominent ‘A’ group leader told TNIE that it is true that the factions have ceased to exist.
“Those leaders who were with us are now with the official group after they were lured with offers of lucrative posts. Earlier, the ‘A’ group had a 40% stake in all the 14 district committees. But now in a committee of 10 members from a district, there are hardly one or two leaders from our group. How will Sudhakaran know who is the best choice for each district? If he is not going to appoint a state-level scrutinising committee, we have decided not to cooperate with the revamp,” a top ‘A’ group leader said.
The Chennithala camp is also of the same view, implying that the two factions are united in this cause.