The Congress high command on Saturday decided to maintain the status quo in the Kerala leadership equations, but promised an overhaul in the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) and the various District Congress Committees after wider discussions involving a broad range of senior leaders.
However, former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, whose name had been proposed for the post of chairman of the United Democratic Front, informed his reluctance to take up the assignment.
The operative part of Saturday’s discussion that Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi had with the Congress troika of former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, Leader of the Opposition Ramesh Chennithala, and KPCC president V.M. Sudheeran was that there would be a total overhaul, without disturbing Mr. Sudheeran despite he coming under a combined attack of both factions in the State unit that held him primarily responsible for the party’s drubbing in the Assembly elections.
Growing rift
The party high command convened the meeting in order to prevent a growing rift among the State leaders mainly on fixing the responsibility for the severe electoral setback. The status quo would not be fully operational because of Mr. Chandy’s firm decision to be outside the frame work of such a formula. Tactically, Mr. Chandy and Mr. Chennithala did not target Mr. Sudheeran at the meeting, but other leaders close to them were not idle.
The announcement that youngsters would be inducted while taking up the organisation overhaul came as some consolation for the Youth Congress leaders who have been lobbying for a generation change in the leadership of the Congress.
Speaking to mediapersons in Delhi, AICC general secretary Mukul Wasnik, who is in charge of Kerala affairs, asserted that the organisation revamp was on the cards, but this would be done after wider consultations. He said the AICC had put a clamp on leaders’ airing their views publically. According to sources, more than 50 leaders are expected to be part of such wide consultations that would help the party high command and Mr. Gandhi himself in having some inputs about the way forward for the party against the backdrop of the defeat.
