In Priyanka’s Wayanad, Congress leaders pay for factional feud with their lives
KALPETTA: Wayanad, hailed as a Congress fortress and the political turf of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, is fast turning into a graveyard for party leaders. In the past decade, five local leaders here have died by suicide, each case exposing a pattern of betrayal, humiliation, and factional bloodletting within the party.
The latest casualty is Jose Nalladam, whose death has once again ripped open the festering wounds of Wayanad Congress politics. Factional rivalries that had already turned violent escalated further after DCC president N D Appachan was assaulted by party workers during a development seminar in Mullankolli in July.
One of the rebels, Thankachan, was later arrested in a liquor-and-explosives case. But after spending 16 days in jail, Thankachan alleged that it was a conspiracy engineered by the Appachan faction, led by Jose.
The allegation unleashed a brutal cyber onslaught against Jose. In his suicide note, Jose wrote: “The party didn’t stand with me during the crisis. Instead, I faced a severe cyber attack.” This is not an isolated tragedy. Last December, DCC treasurer N M Vijayan and his son Jijesh died by suicide, leaving behind a note that directly accused Appachan and senior MLA I C Balakrishnan.
Vijayan detailed how debt spiralled to Rs 65 lakh after he mortgaged his assessor to cover loans allegedly taken under pressure from Congress leaders, only to be abandoned by the party when the financial noose tightened.
Going further back, the story grows darker. In 2015, senior leader P V John hanged himself inside a party office in Mananthavady after colleagues deserted him during the local-body elections, allegedly backing a rebel candidate against him.
In 2023, party worker Rajendran Nair ended his life in the shadow of the infamous Pulpally fraud, where Congress-linked bank officials were accused by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) of inflating loans and illegally sanctioning funds without applicants’ knowledge.
Despite the repeated tragedies, the party leadership has done little to stem the crisis. Instead of addressing factionalism, KPCC president Sunny Joseph dodged responsibility after Jose’s death, shifting the blame to the police for seizing alcohol and explosives from Thankachan’s house.
Meanwhile, Priyanka, who has been in Wayanad for two days, has maintained silence.
“It is the district leadership that needs to settle these issues. Priyanka will not comment on such matters,” senior leader Raju P Nair, who coordinates her Kerala visits, told TNIE.
Appachan himself denied any internal strife, calling Jose’s death the result of a “political back game”. Speaking after paying respects to Jose’s family, he insisted that “there is no factionalism in the Congress in Mullankolli. The police have not revealed his suicide note. Once names emerge, we will hold talks with the KPCC leadership.”
Jose, a member of the second ward of Mullankolli Panchayat, was found unconscious around 9am on Friday.
Neighbours rushed him first to a private hospital in Pulpally and later to the taluk hospital in Sulthan Bathery, but doctors declared him dead. After public homage at his residence, the funeral was held at Pattanikkap Unniso Church by 4 pm.
District leaders of both Congress and CPM paid respects at his funeral. CPM district secretary K Rafeeq alleged that Jose’s death was the result of power struggle between Appachan and Balakrishnan.
“The Congress in Wayanad is functioning like an underworld gang. In the past decade, five Congress workers have taken their own lives here. Strict legal action is needed,” Rafeeq said.