The Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) has appointed two committees to probe the defeat suffered by the party in four constituencies.
KPCC general secretary P.M. Suresh Babu will head the committee to separately inquire into the defeat of Dean Kuriakose, who lost the Idukki seat to LDF-backed Joice George. Former KPCC president C.V. Padmarajan will head the probe into the defeat of the party candidates in Thrissur, Chalakudy, Palakkad and Alathur. In the case of Kannur defeat and the performance of the party in other districts, the respective District Congress Committees will carry out assessments.
The decision was taken at a joint meeting of KPCC executive committee members, DCC presidents, former KPCC presidents, office-bearers of the Congress Legislative Party and feeder organisations here on Thursday.
Another major decision was to suspend former Minister T.H. Mustapha from the primary membership of the party subject to a detailed inquiry. He was suspended for openly criticising Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi for the party’s defeat in the Lok Sabha elections. Addressing a press conference soon after a marathon nine-hour long meeting, KPCC president V.M. Sudheeran said the attitude of putting the entire blame for the party’s defeat on one person was unacceptable and a violation of party discipline. Mr. Mustapha, an over- the-hill Congress leader, had depicted Mr. Gandhi as a “joker” in one of his televised interviews.
Mr. Suresh Babu will be assisted by former MLA Babu Prasad and M.A. Kuttappan, while Mr. Padmarajan will be assisted by Cyriac John and K.P. Anil Kumar.
According to party sources, the meeting saw constructive criticism against the party's Central leadership. Chief Minister Oommen Chandy wanted a detailed examination for the party’s loss in its traditional strongholds. Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala said some of the Central policies went against the interests of the common man.
The meeting held a constituency-wise evaluation of the party’s performance in the Lok Sabha elections.
The KPCC president wanted to ensure that the discussions were meaningful and permitted all those who wanted to speak.
