Former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy on Monday expressed satisfaction at the outcome of his meeting with Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on the manner in which he and his supporters had been treated in recent times.
“I am fully satisfied with the discussions. Now, it is for the high command to take a suitable decision,” Mr. Chandy told mediapersons in New Delhi. However, he preferred to remain cryptic about the proposed resolution formula, particularly on two issues, his role in Kerala politics – on whether he would assume party responsibility at whichever level the high command decides – and his demand for a total revamp through organisational elections.
He said he had discussed organisational issues with Mr. Gandhi. Mr. Chandy maintained that the demand for organisational elections was not new and hoped that the high command would take an appropriate decision.
Mr. Chandy reportedly expressed his reservations at the manner in which new District Congress Committee presidents were inducted unilaterally by the high command without considering the political imperatives of maintaining community balance.
He is reported to have questioned the selection of nominees for at least two districts that did not reflect the communal equations there.
Mr. Chandy remained non-committal on taking up new party responsibilities during his talks with Mr. Gandhi. There is also no word on whether he would attend crucial party committee meetings such as the Political Affairs Committee. At the press conference in Delhi, Mr. Chandy denied that he had stayed away from party programmes.
He did not consider PAC a party programme. Besides, he had other engagements that prevented him from attending the meeting, he said.
Mr. Chandy has been seeking the ouster of State Congress president V.M. Sudheeran on the grounds that he was equally responsible for the drubbing of the Congress in the Assembly election. Mr. Gandhi is reportedly not agreeable to removing Mr. Sudheeran. It is in this context that Mr. Chandy has been demanding organisational elections that would enable him to prove his clout in the party.
Mr. Chandy met Mr. Gandhi in the presence of All India Congress Committee general secretary Mukul Wasnik. He also met senior leaders A.K. Antony and Manmohan Singh.
Sources said a decision on Kerala issues is unlikely to materialise soon since the Congress leadership, including Mr. Gandhi, would be preoccupied with striking alliances with Akhilesh Yadav in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections.
