Another Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) general secretary, G. Rathi Kumar, broke rank with his party on Wednesday and shifted his political allegiance to the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)].
The divisions in the KPCC leadership over the disputed appointment of District Congress Committee (DCC) presidents seemed to be on full display again for the second consecutive day.
On Monday, expelled KPCC general secretary K.P. Anil Kumar, had joined the CPI(M).
CPI(M) Polit Bureau member Kodiyeri Balakrishnan and other senior leaders feted Mr. Kumar at the AKG Centre. The CPI(M) extended Mr. Kumar the same courtesy it had shown Mr. Anil Kumar and KPCC secretary P. S.Prasanth. Mr. Prasanth had defected to the CPI(M) on September 3.
Seemingly after the fashion of his predecessors, Mr. Kumar rebuked the KPCC leadership for promoting “servile sycophancy” over merit in party appointments.
Cong. unfazed
Nevertheless, the Congress appeared unfazed. Leader of the Opposition V. D. Satheesan said a few deserters would not dent the party’s prospects. The Congress had resurged after K. Karunakaran left the party in 2004.
Another leader said the current desertions were a tempest in a teapot compared to Karunakaran’s “rebellion”. Several DCCs had shifted their allegiance to Karunakaran. The Congress risked losing cadres and offices then.
No such situation prevailed now. The Congress was not nervous about the prospect of more copycat defections. Committed party workers were in the majority. They would not desert the organisation in the time of an existential crisis. No ordinary worker had joined the ranks of the “defectors” so far. It was unlikely any would, he claimed.
CM’s prediction
However, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan seemed to differ. He declared somewhat ominously for the Congress that the trickle of leaders deserting the party would soon turn into a tide. He said that secular and progressive Congress workers disillusioned with the party’s leadership saw the CPI(M) and not the BJP as a safe harbour.
“Today, another KPCC leader agreed to work in cooperation with the CPI(M). We have to see who will come tomorrow. I am sure there will be more,” he said at his weekly press conference.
