The JSS party led by general secretary K.R. Gowri is again at a crossroads with a group of workers demanding her hibernation.
The group, headed by secretary B.Gopan, wants the founder-leader to step down and allow party functionaries to take over the reins.
Mr. Gopan said a letter had been submitted to Ms.Gowri explaining the reasons behind the demand. He alleged that the nonagenarian leader was being misled by a coterie, interested in promoting self-interests.
What apparently provoked the group was the induction of a person of Ms. Gowri’s choice as the chairman of a corporation, a position allotted to the party as per the LDF’s power-sharing formula. She is said to have overlooked several senior leaders for the post.
The dissent was aired openly as the letter did not evoke any response. But Ms.Gowri reacted immediately after the detractors announced their dissatisfaction over the functioning of the party.
She said the dissenting voice was a reflection of their disappointment over the appointment. The party ‘Centre’, the top decision-making body, would discuss the matter on December 29. She would abide by the decision of the majority, she said.
Mr. Gopan alleged that the party Centre was defunct and its decision won’t be binding on them. The party’s executive committee, consisting of about 100 members originally, was having about 65 members now, he told The Hindu . He claimed that the majority was with them. The State committee meeting would be convened soon to decide on the future plan, he said.
“The coterie behind the 97-year-old leader had been aiming at her assets and not keen on taking the party on the lines of the principles laid down by the founder leader. The JSS would continue its alliance with the Left,” he said.
In fact, he and his supporters were in favour of a merger with the CPI(M) which had been planned earlier, but abandoned at the final stage.
The party, founded 22 years ago after she was expelled from the CPI(M), had witnessed the exit of several leaders such as K.K.Shaju and Rajan Babu in the past.
