PCC reshuffle triggers heartburns

By Girish Menon

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, SEPT. 21. The KPCC reconstitution appears to have left behind heartburns even though the party high command has taken care to do the balancing act by accommodating various groups and underprivileged sections.

One of the key issues which would be debated in the coming days is the party decision not to induct MLAs and MPs as office- bearers of the PCC. As many as 20 MLAs belonging to various groups would be affected by this decision. The senior leader, Mr. K. Karunakaran, has already expressed his views on this rather bluntly though the affected parties do not seem to have been as articulate.

The smaller groups, led by Mr. Ramesh Chennithala and Mr. Vayalar Ravi, have gained grounds on account of the reconstitution and the high command's desire to carry all sections. The Chennithala faction failed to ensure that the tradition of nominating the Youth Congress president as one of the KPCC general secretaries, leaving Mr. K. C. Venugopal in the cold. The Karunakaran faction has been able to get its nominee, Mr. P. P. Thankachan, inducted as KPCC vice-president but has had to concede the Ernakulam DCC which it held for the last 14 years.

The reconstitution has, by and large, established the upper hand of the Karunakaran faction in party affairs, albeit marginally. A majority of the DCCs (seven) are with the Karunakaran faction, five with the Antony faction and one each with the third and fourth groups. The anti-Karunakaran forces outnumber the Karunakaran men. A few of the nominees have been inducted as per the directions of the high command which wanted to give accommodation to tribals, Scheduled Castes, women, etc.

The Antony faction has gained in terms of numbers as far as DCCs and office-bearers are concerned but there are quite a few discontented leaders of this otherwise closely-knit group who are holding back for the present.

With the reconstitution behind it, it remains to be seen whether the party leadership would be able to exorcise the ghost of factionalism. Despite the fact that faction affiliations have been taken into consideration, it would not be surprising if the debilitating factional fights should rear its head again. With the Congress viewpoint appearing to be faint in UDF deliberations these days, the jumbo KPCC would have to move mountains to contribute meaningfully towards framing of policy perspectives.

The coordination between the Parliamentary Party and the KPCC would also emerge as a key issue in the coming days, though the PCC chief, Mr. K. Muraleedharan, and the Chief Minister, Mr. A. K. Antony, project a picture of cordiality between them.

The reconstitution of the KPCC could have triggered a shift in factional equations. How deep this is going to run depends on several factors including the latent discontent among those who have lost out in the reshuffle.

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Section  : Southern States
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