Thiruvananthapuram : Dissent is brewing within the Congress party in Kerala in the run-up to the local body elections slated to be held this November. The discord in the party is based on the issues related to revamping of Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC). While KPCC chief VM Sudheeran wants to complete the ongoing process, the two dominant groups led by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala want it to be deferred till the elections are over.
The duo had met Sudheeran at party headquarters in the state capital on Wednesday and apprised him about the difficulties of going ahead with the organisational revamp amid preparations for the polls, which may even affect the prospects of the party in the election. However, Sudheeran rejected the plea saying that the revamp would give the party more strength to face the polls. He pointed out that the reorganisation up to the district level in 10 out of 12 districts was going on smoothly and deferring it at this stage would derail the process.
The issue worsened on Thursday with the Chandy and Chennithala taking up the matter with Congress Working Committee (CWC) member AK Antony. According to party sources, the two senior leaders told Antony that all District Congress Committee (DCC) presidents, except one, had made a plea for postponing the revamp at the KPCC office bearers meet held on Tuesday. Sudheeran, while rejecting the appeal outright, reportedly chided the chiefs for inefficiency in accomplishing the tasks assigned to them.
The two groups have been wary of the moves of Sudheeran, who was appointed without their consent, after he unilaterally included the leaders of his choice in the Wayanad DCC. He had struck off some names forwarded from the district. Sudheeran, who took over the post with a mandate to wipe out groupism from the party, is apparently trying to free the party from the grip of groups.
