NEW DELHI/T’PURAM: As suspense mounts over the Congress high command’s decision on Kerala’s next chief minister, Rahul Gandhi’s consultations on Tuesday with former KPCC presidents and senior leaders are learnt to have dealt a major blow to V D Satheesan, the Leader of the Opposition.
While AICC general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal appears to have surged ahead in the race, backed by a majority of the newly elected MLAs, sources said the party is likely to announce its choice on Wednesday.
The high command believes the unruly incidents linked to the CM selection were not spontaneous, but orchestrated by certain leaders as a pressure tactic. The developments have reportedly irked the party leadership and could further boost the prospects of Venugopal.
Though it was widely expected that Rahul would seek leaders’ views on the next CM, a senior leader told the TNIE that “the issue did not come up at all”, noting that most of them had already conveyed their preferences to the party observers.
‘Rahul sought details of protests and social media attacks against leaders’
Instead, Rahul sought the details of the violent protest marches and social media attacks targeting party leaders, he said. The meetings reportedly became a platform for the high command to express its displeasure over the incidents.
At one point, Rahul was heard remarking “how social media platforms created for the party’s official campaign were being misused”.
He also expressed concern over attempts by certain quarters outside the Congress to influence the party’s decision-making through lobbying and backroom manoeuvres, another leader said. “Rahul told us he was seeking details only because he wanted a clear understanding of the incidents that had unfolded,” the leader added.
The party leadership believes the episode could set a precedent for similar developments elsewhere. The high command views the entire sequence as a disturbing trend.
Rahul held one-to-one meetings with former KPCC presidents K Muralidharan, V M Sudheeran and M M Hassan, Congress disciplinary committee chairman Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan, and working presidents A P Anil Kumar, P C Vishnunath and Shafi Parambil. He also talked to Mullappally Ramachandran over telephone. Later, he held a meeting with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge.
