State leadership responsible for poor show: Balakrishnan

Congress leader and former Minister C.N. Balakrishnan has alleged that the party State leadership is responsible for the poor performance of the Congress and the United Democratic Front (UDF) in the Assembly elections.

Responding to allegations that senior Congress leaders in the district, including Mr. Balakrishnan, were responsible for the failure of the party and the front, he said the State leadership had chosen candidates without consensus. The party should keep away those who were responsible for the situation. “If I am responsible for that, I too should be kept away,” he said.

Complaints

Anil Akkara, who won by 43 votes from Wadakkacheery, and Padmaja Venugopal, who lost in Thrissur, had complained to the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) subcommittee that senior leaders, including Mr. Balakrishnan, had a hand in the party’s poor showing.

Meanwhile, young Congress leaders in the district demanded total revamp of the party’s district-level leadership. The KPCC subcommittee, consisting of Bharathipuram Sasi, Bindu Krishna, and N. Venugopal, interacted with Congress leaders and workers.

The UDF could win only one of the 13 constituencies in the district in the last Assembly elections.

Says State leadership choosing candidates without consensus for Assembly polls led to UDF debacle.